Commissioner celebrates Washington County school improvements on first day of report card rollout tour

Maine Education Commissioner Jim Rier presents Rose M. Gaffney School Principal Mitchell Look with a certificate of achievement for earning an A on their 2014 school report card. The school received a C last year. — Maine Education Commissioner Jim Rier presents Rose M. Gaffney School Principal Mitchell Look with a certificate of achievement for earning an A on their 2014 school report card while visiting Washington County on Monday. The school received a C last year.

Maine Department of Education Commissioner Jim Rier returned to his native county to present Rose M. Gaffney Elementary School their A grade and Narraguagus High School their C. Both schools have higher rates of low-income students than the state average and spend less on classroom instruction, yet both improved by two letter grades.

MACHIAS – Maine’s Commissioner of Education spent Monday in Washington County, recognizing two schools there for raising their grades on the 2014 school report cards that will be released to the public on Thursday.

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Commissioner to visit Maine schools, release report cards

Commissioner Jim Rier will travel to personally congratulate six of the 93 schools that improved by at least one letter grade since the first school report cards were released by his Department one year ago

MACHIAS – Maine’s Education Commissioner will kick-off a multi-day tour culminating with the release of the 2014 statewide school report cards with a visit on Monday to the Washington County elementary school where his own schooling started.

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Maine high school graduation rates continue to climb

The State Department of Education is encouraged by the increase, but says a wide graduation-proficiency gap and high college remediation rates show Maine schools must prioritize proficiency

AUGUSTA – Maine’s high school graduation rate continues to climb with 86.36 percent of all students who entered the ninth grade in the fall of 2009 earning their diplomas on time in 2013, but State education officials stress that proficiency must be the top priority.

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Maine DOL, DHHS collaborate on welfare-to-work initiative

Joint effort provides ASPIRE program participants with training needed for successful employment

AUGUSTA— Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services and the Maine Department of Labor’s Bureau of Employment Services have launched a program designed to successfully transition those on welfare to meaningful employment.

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Maine DOE prepares to release school report cards, outlines changes

In an effort to expand the snapshot of a school the report card provides, the Department will add information about student poverty, teacher tenure and education levels, and funding

AUGUSTA – The Maine Department of Education has begun creating the 2014 school report cards that will be published in May.

For the second straight year, the Department will use existing school performance and progress data to provide the public a snapshot of how the state’s 600 schools are doing.

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Maine DOE opens registration for free online AP classes

The offering of free Advanced Placement courses through AP4ALL is another way the Maine Department of Education provides digital learning opportunities to all Maine students

AUGUSTA – Student registration is now open for free online Advanced Placement courses that will start next September.

As part of its commitment to providing digital learning opportunities to all Maine students, the Maine Department of Education’s AP4ALL program allows all high school students who are educated at the public expense access to the year-long online Advanced Placement courses. The Department also covers the cost of books and materials.

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Maine DOE releases elementary student assessment results

AUGUSTA – The majority of Maine’s elementary school students are still proficient in reading and math, but State Education Department officials say performance declines in all grade levels tested are a reminder of the importance of school-led improvement work continuing.

The performance of students in grades three through eight, as measured by the New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) administered in October, comes just months after the Department announced proficiency in math and reading was on the rise again in Maine high schools, according to scores from the 2013 SAT.

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Maine DOE bridges transition to college, careers with $500,000 in grants

The funding will allow students to earn post-secondary credit while still in high school and develop technical and life skills for success in college, careers and civic life

AUGUSTA – As many as 225 students will earn approximately two semesters of college credit before they even graduate from high school, thanks to $500,000 from the Maine Department of Education to support the innovative Bridge Year Program.

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Schools to represent Maine at regional conference on educational innovation

PORTLAND – Three Maine schools and one Maine school district—Ellsworth High School, Troy Howard Middle School (Belfast), Westbrook High School and Regional School Unit 2 (Hallowell)—have been invited to represent their state at a regional conference on effective strategies for improving teaching and learning in the 21^st century.

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Maine DOE selects student artwork for MLTI screensavers

“Landscape” by Liam Reading, a junior at Bangor High School, is one of the 22 pieces of student artwork that will be featured as screensavers or background images on MLTI devices.

AUGUSTA – Twenty-two young Maine artists will soon have an audience of tens of thousands of their fellow students and teachers for their artwork.

A painting, drawing or photograph from each of the 22 artists representing a dozen schools has been selected to be displayed during the 2014-15 academic year on devices provided to schools by the Maine Department of Education through the Maine Learning Technology Initiative (MLTI).

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