From the Commissioner

Congratulations on completing another successful school year.

I was honored to spend much of the past week connecting with many of Maine’s education leaders at the 102^nd Annual Superintendent’s Conference in Northport. For those who attended, I hope the transformational leadership development combined with the transitional support to help your schools move to a proficiency-based diploma energized you as much as it did me. Just as our potential to graduate every student prepared is great, so are the stakes – as was made quite evident by the CEOs who spoke during Sunday’s session about the core competencies the opportunities of Maine’s future will demand.

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From the Commissioner

School may be already out, but the Legislature isn’t just yet.

Last week, the Appropriations Committee cut $12.6 million in targeted funding Maine DOE and the Governor had proposed in the next biennial budget that would have supported improvement and innovation in our schools. Included in those cuts was $3 million specifically for school improvement, funding which several districts have already expressed an interest in receiving.

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From the Commissioner

We continue to get positive feedback on the Data Warehouse we unveiled last month in conjunction with the Maine School Performance Grading System. Educators and administrators like having multiple years of their key data – including individual student growth models – in once place, and that they can export it to use and share. The also appreciate the ability to run comparisons of like schools and districts to determine best practices and opportunities for collaboration.

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From the Commissioner

Today marks the launch of Maine DOE’s new School Improvement Webinar Series. It’s one of the many resources we’re making available to support the school improvement work initiated by our Maine School Performance Grading System.

We hope you’ll join us on our four free webinars already scheduled this month. They’ll focus on topics including the characteristics of highly effective schools; using data from our data warehouse and Measured Progress to inform planning for the 2013-2014 school year; and strategies for schools with low income populations to be high performing.

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From the Commissioner

Yesterday, Governor LePage and I celebrated our nationally competitive robotics teams and students who have received recognition at the national level for their accomplishments in science, technology, engineering and mathematics – known as STEM.

Maine should be proud of these innovative student leaders who received the Governor’s Promising STEM Awards. Robotics teams from schools in Auburn, Brewer, Cape Elizabeth, Falmouth, Mount Desert Island and Oakland were honored, as were Maine’s delegates to the 2013 National Youth Science Camp (Ryanne Daily – John Bapst Memorial High School and Keylsey Burke – Dirigo High School); the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Mary Butler – Bangor High School,  and Meagan Currie and Harry Pershing – Greely High School); and the National Stockholm Junior Water Prize (Nathan Dee – Bangor High School).

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From the Commissioner

Today I visited the Troy Howard Middle School in RSU 20 as one of the final stops this spring on my Promising Practices Tour. The Belfast school is undergoing a transformation, using data, strong leadership – most notably at the principal level – and customized learning to engage students and improve proficiency and progress.

Even after months on the road for this tour, I continue to be incredibly energized by the practices schools are implementing that show promise and move forward our shared vision of an evolving education system that puts students at its center.

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From the Commissioner

As you receive this, 1,000 students and 200 educators along with their Apple MacBooks are at the University of Maine showcasing how State-supplied technology is transforming learning and better preparing them for success in their classroom, career and civic life as part of the 10th Annual Maine Learning Technology Initiative Student Conference.

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From the Commissioner

It’s been over a week since Governor LePage and I released Maine’s School Performance Grading System. I continue to tour schools that are exemplifying promising practices, including several that have received grades on the lower end of the spectrum. Based on what I’ve seen, these schools are doing many of the right things to get their students invested in learning. It’s important that the Department be engaged with these schools to let them know they have support.

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From the Commissioner

It’s been a busy week at Maine DOE as we released the first A-F report cards for each of the state’s schools as part of the new Maine School Performance Grading System. Now that we have a usable and understandable benchmark of where schools are, the real work begins!

The initiative focuses on continuous improvement through transparency, parent engagement and a renewed focus—not just by those of us in the education community but by all Mainers—on making all of our schools better for all of our students.

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From the Commissioner

Schools are back in session after a week-long spring vacation, and I’m ready to get back into the field to finish up my Promising Practices Tour. The schools I’ve seen so far have made significant progress in moving toward a system that supports students in achieving proficiency and prepares them for college and careers.

Next Thursday I’ll be traveling to Dixfield and Oxford Hills to see student-centered and experiential learning in action. I will also meet with members of the Western Maine Education Collaborative, which was recently featured in the Maine DOE Center for Best Practices.

Superintendents, stay tuned for more information about A-F school report cards next week.