The Boston Globe News in Education (NIE) program is offering access to educational resources free of charge to Maine teachers and their students in grades K-12.
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Category: Instruction
Notice of proposed rule changes: Chapter 13, Qualifying Examinations for Teachers, Educational Specialists and Administrators
The Maine DOE and the State Board of Education are proposing changes this fall to the rules regarding the qualifying examinations for credentialing purposes for teachers, educational specialists and administrators.
Commissioner’s Update – October 16, 2014
From Maine Education Commissioner Jim Rier
Last week, I had the opportunity to spend two full days at the annual conference of the Association of Computer Technology Educators of Maine (ACTEM). To say I was impressed and inspired by what I experienced would be an understatement. Maine has long been looked to as a national leader when it comes to integrating technology in the classroom and the energy and expertise I saw in the hundreds of technology educators at the conference proved why.
I was especially impacted by the session I attended entitled “A Day in the iPad Empowered Elementary Classroom.” To see how Maine educators are using technology to change the way they teach students is almost as exciting as seeing how students – including those only in Kindergarten – are responding. Maine kids are being engaged and empowered as leaders in their own learning through these new tools in ways that many adults like me can’t even imagine. It is critical we keep up with their appetite and aptitude by finding innovative ways to leverage technology to continue to improve not just the experience of our students but their academic achievement.
I want to thank Maine’s many technology educators who are doing just that in classrooms across the state every day. Not only are you enhancing the educational environment for our students, but you are better preparing them for success in 21st century college and careers.
Notices and Reporting
- Local Entitlement Report of Final Expenditures, due Oct. 30
- Local Entitlement Year End Report, due Oct. 30
- School Facilities Inventory FY13-14, due Dec. 31
More Notices | Administrative Letters | Reporting Calendar
News & Views
Education Commissioner visiting Bangor schools today
Maine’s Education Commissioner will spend Thursday in the classrooms of the state’s third largest school district to see how proficiency-based education is transforming teaching and learning there. | More
Turner Elementary named Maine’s National Blue Ribbon School
Turner Elementary School in MSAD 52 is one of 287 public schools across the country to be named a 2014 National Blue Ribbon School for high levels of student achievement. | More
Charter Commission advances virtual school proposal, schedules public hearing
A second public virtual charter school being proposed in Maine was unanimously advanced to the next round of review by the state’s Charter Commission. | More
District leaders share educator evaluation system implementation strategies
A panel of district leaders who have experienced the challenges and the success of developing and implementing Performance Evaluation and Professional Growth (PEPG) systems shared their success strategies at a recent seminar. | More
MMSA selects Ruth Kermish-Allen as Executive Director
The board and staff of the Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance have selected Ruth Kermish-Allen, currently Director of Education at the Island Institute and a resident of Appleton, as the organization’s next Executive Director. | More
Schools encouraged to prepare for Alcohol Awareness Day
Community groups and schools across the state will be conducting activities to raise awareness about alcohol use and abuse throughout Maine’s Alcohol Awareness Week, Dec. 1-5. | More
Maine schools encouraged to enter Verizon Innovative App Challenge
Maine schools are encouraged to enter the Verizon Innovative App Challenge, a creative and collaborative competition that offers up to $20,000 in grants for winning middle schools and high schools. | More
More Dispatches | Press Releases | From the Commissioner
LATEST DOE Career/Project Opportunities
District leaders share educator evaluation system implementation strategies
A panel of district leaders who have experienced the challenges and the success of developing and implementing Performance Evaluation and Professional Growth (PEPG) systems shared their success strategies with more than 100 participants from across the state at a recent seminar hosted by legal firm Drummond Woodsum in partnership with the Maine School Management Association.
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Schools encouraged to prepare for Alcohol Awareness Day
Note: This is a joint letter from Commissioner of Education Jim Rier and Guy Cousins, director of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services in the Department of Health and Human Services.
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Celebrating Maine’s 2015 Teacher of the Year
Last week I had the honor of announcing Jennifer Dorman as the 2015 Maine Teacher of the Year.
Mrs. Dorman, who dreamed of being a teacher since her very first day of Kindergarten, has been a special educator in Somerset County schools for two decades, most recently at Skowhegan Area Middle School (SAMS) where she is a seventh-and eighth-grade special education and reading intervention teacher.
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Final deadline for proficiency-based diploma extension applications Oct. 18
The final deadline for districts looking for an extension in implementing a proficiency-based diploma requirement is next week.
Earlier this year, the Department released six extension request options to provide the time and support districts say they need to undertake the thoughtful, systemic change needed to ensure quality implementation of systems that support the awarding of proficiency-based diplomas starting in 2018.
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All students, all standards but different demonstrations of proficiency
As Maine moves toward a proficiency-based education system that will ensure students graduate from our high schools having mastered State learning standards, I am often asked what this expectation means for our nearly 30,000 students with disabilities.
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Maine DOE offering free workshops for world languages educators
The Maine DOE’s World Languages in Maine: A Standards-Based Teaching and Assessment Initiative, now in its third year, will be again offering free regional workshops for world language teachers statewide during the 2014-15 school year.
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Maine DOE announces principals as instructional leaders workshops
As part of the Maine DOE’s ongoing efforts to develop and support school leaders, the Department is hosting a second series of workshops to support principals as instructional leaders. The sessions this fall, scheduled throughout the state (see full schedule below), will focus on effective teaching and learning in mathematics.
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