Category: Instruction

Superintendents learn strategies for student success

Participants in the 101st annual Maine Superintendents’ Conference last week attended five of nine possible workshop sessions addressing one overarching topic: strategies to help each individual learner meet proficiency. State educators, Maine DOE staff and outside program leaders conducted sessions on subjects such as student-centered data management and the Maine Schools for Excellence teacher evaluation initiative. Here is a closer look at three of the workshops offered:

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Opportunity to attend autism training

UPDATED: The Maine Department of Education will host a three-session autism team training for school districts beginning in November 2012. To be considered for participation in the training sessions, the application must be completed no later than September 1, 2012.

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New teacher eval system means better educator training

Commissioner Bowen tests out Farwell Elementary's pilot teacher evaluation system, which makes good use of iPads.
Commissioner Bowen tests out Farwell Elementary’s iPad teacher evaluation system in Danielle Bilodeau’s fifth grade classroom.

Administrators and teachers at Farwell Elementary School in Lewiston are using iPads to develop new educator evaluation rubrics, the first Teacher Incentive Fund school in Maine to do so. I had the chance to use the app to evaluate fifth grade teacher Danielle Bilodeau when I visited Farwell last week, and I can assure you that teachers have never had any feedback system like this before.

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Proficiency-based education a success in Gray-New Gloucester

Commissioner Bowen asks questions of Jessica Burnell and Abby Chandler, two of the student panelists who helped describe their experiences with proficiency-based education at Gray-New Gloucester Middle School.
Commissioner Bowen asks questions of Jessica Burnell, left, and Abbey Chandler, two of the student panelists who helped describe their experiences with proficiency-based education at Gray-New Gloucester Middle School.

GRAY – No matter where Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen went during his school tour last Friday, he encountered a similar scenario: students taking control of their learning, reflecting the vision found in the Maine Department of Education’s strategic plan. Students, teachers and administrators at Gray-New Gloucester Middle School in Gray proved they are ahead of the game with their well-received proficiency-based, learner-centered instructional system.

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Rules for restraint and seclusion updated; now accepting training program applicants

The Maine Department of Education expects to finally adopt a comprehensive revision of rules governing restraint and seclusion of students (Rule Chapter 33) by the end of this week.  The effective date of the rule will be set by the Office of the Secretary of State and is expected to be June 7.

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The Math Gates: Team teaching art and math

Art teacher Dona Seegers and RSU 38 math coach have collaborated in teaching art and math this school year at Mount Vernon Elementary School. They wrote this essay about their experience.

Team teaching art and math works!

We are motivated by the excitement of new ideas for presenting our subjects to the students, are eager to experiment and have infectious enthusiasm.

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