More than 200 visual and performing arts educators attended the biennial statewide conference, Arts Education: Leading the Way, held at the University of Maine in October. The Maine Arts Assessment Initiative (MAAI), established by the Maine DOE in 2011, enlisted its teacher leaders to present 35 professional development workshops at this event.
Continue reading “Arts education “leads way” at statewide conference”
Maine middle and high school students can compete to win $20,000 for their school and the latest Samsung tablet as part of an innovative science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) challenge from Verizon.
The Verizon Innovative App Challenge was first launched in 2012 as a collaborative competition to encourage students’ interest in STEM. Verizon believes student achievement in STEM is critical to U.S. economic growth and competitiveness on the global stage. Continue reading “Maine students invited to enter Verizon STEM challenge”
In August, the Department announced that we’d secured federal flexibility for Maine schools in the form of a two-year waiver from some provisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), also known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB).
At the heart of Maine’s approved plan is a system of differentiated recognition, accountability and support for Maine’s 380 Title I-served schools. Schools are placed, based on student proficiency and progress, in one of five categories: priority, focus, monitor, progressing and meeting.
Nominations are now open for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) 2013-14 competition, sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Continue reading “Nominate K-6 math and science teachers for national awards”
The Maine DOE’s Literacy for ME initiative recently hosted a Critical Friends meeting to share its accomplishments and offer guidance for ongoing implementation efforts. This meeting marked the first-year implementation anniversary of Literacy for ME, a statewide initiative intended to bolster literacy learning opportunities across the birth to adult span. Literacy for ME includes a State literacy plan that promotes state-level literacy education efforts as well as the development of community-based literacy teams.
Continue reading “Literacy for ME reports on accomplishments”
Note: This is a joint announcement from Acting Commissioner of Education Jim Rier and Guy Cousins, director of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services in the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.
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. 2-6, which includes Alcohol Awareness Day on Monday, Dec. 2.
Continue reading “Prepare for December’s Alcohol Awareness Day”
Improving educator effectiveness is the single most important action we can take for our students. Study after study shows that students who are assigned to effective teachers and school leaders make noticeably more academic progress than those who are not.
Continue reading “Ensuring an effective educator in every Maine classroom”
As part of the Maine DOE’s ongoing commitment to helping our schools improve, we have launched a completely redesigned gifted and talented section of our website.
Continue reading “Maine DOE unveils new gifted and talented site”
Last week, we released the statewide results from the 2012-13 Maine High School Assessment (MHSA).
The good news? Proficiency in math and reading is on the rise again in our high schools, suggesting students are better prepared for success in college and their careers.
Continue reading “Math and reading proficiency rates rise, work continues”
Mary Paine, a former English teacher, has been named the new educator effectiveness coordinator for the Maine DOE. The Department established the position in order to better coordinate its efforts to prepare, evaluate and support educators to promote the goal of having an effective teacher in every classroom and an effective leader in every school.
Continue reading “Maine DOE names educator effectiveness coordinator”
Maine DOE Newsroom 