Free One-Day National Conference for Educators: Virtual State of Agriculture

Maine Agriculture in the Classroom (MACITC) is offering a FREE Professional Development Opportunity from National Agriculture in the Classroom and CHS Foundation. The Virtual State of Agriculture is a one-day virtual conference on July 28th from 10:00am – 5:45pm (ET).

The conference will will feature a keynote address from the award-winning author Peggy Thomas. Sessions will feature a variety of agricultural subjects and interests for all grade levels. There are two session tracks, one for elementary and one for secondary, and participants can switch back and forth to any session that interests them.

Join us for a day sure to leave you with valuable agricultural literacy resources and excitement for the new school year!

Learn more and register here.

For more information reach out to Maine Agriculture in the Classroom at P: 207.287.5522 or E: maitc@maine.gov.

Governor Mills Announces Statewide Expansion of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Maine

During a virtual discussion with iconic singer-songwriter Dolly Parton at the National Governor’s Association today, Governor Janet Mills announced that the State of Maine is launching a statewide expansion of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in 2023.

The Imagination Library of Maine will mail high-quality, age appropriate books to children from birth until age five every month, no matter their family’s income. The program is dedicated to improving the lives of children by inspiring a love of reading with books, and is free to enrolled children and families.

As part of the recent bipartisan budget, Governor Mills proposed, and the Legislature approved, a $200,000 investment to implement the program, which will be administered by the Maine State Library. Together, The Dollywood Foundation and the Maine State Library will develop an implementation strategy this year with local libraries, community non-profits, the Maine Department of Education, and school systems – to establish and expand the program in the coming years. By the end of 2023, the State of Maine and the Imagination Library hope to have sent an initial 106,000 books to more than 14,000 children across Maine.

Maine is the 13^th state to commit to achieving statewide coverage of the program.

“We know the simple act of reading to a child stimulates brain development, reduces stress and anxiety, builds vocabulary, and develops the literacy skills they’ll need to succeed in school and beyond,” said Governor Janet Mills. “Today, we are taking another step forward to help make that happen by delivering books free of charge to Maine kids. Maine is proud to join the family of states that participate in the Imagination Library. On behalf of all Maine children who will be served by this program in the years to come, I thank the one-and-only Dolly Parton.”

“The Maine State Library is excited to be able to administer this program that will eventually connect tens of thousands of families and Maine children with wonderful books sent right to their homes,” said State Librarian James Ritter. “Working with Maine’s libraries and other organizations, we will have the opportunity to foster and grow generations of young readers through the Imagination Library, and for every child that learns to read, we know we are helping to build a community of lifelong learners.”

The Imagination Library builds on the Mills Administration’s commitment to increasing childhood literacy in Maine, including investing $10 million through the Governor’s Maine Jobs and Recovery Plan to create and expand pre-school programs across Maine.

The Administration is also creating “Literacy for ME 2.0” to revamp its statewide literacy plan and the Maine Association for Improving Literacy to mobilize a network of educators who are committed to supporting statewide literacy efforts.

This summer, the Maine Department of Education will also be hosting its first ever Educator Summit to train our teachers in the most effective, evidence-based practices for increasing childhood literacy. Every year, the Department also sponsors the statewide “Read to Me” challenge to encourage adults to read to their children.

In 2019, about 57 percent of fourth grade students who are eligible for free or reduced lunch scored below proficiency reading levels while 33 percent of students who are not eligible for free or reduced lunch scored below proficiency reading levels. However, Maine is ranked fifth in the nation for the percentage of parents with children aged 0 to 5 who read to their children every day (46.9 percent).

Dolly Parton founded the Imagination Library in 1995 as a way to distribute books to the impoverished Tennessee county where she grew up. The State of Tennessee quickly adopted the program statewide, and, since then, the nonprofit program has expanded into five countries. As of June 2022, the Imagination Library has gifted 184,615,046 books with over 2 million kids currently registered.

According to The Dollywood Foundation, 90 percent of a child’s brain is developed by the age of five, making that time period critically important for their development that can be enhanced by reading books. The Foundation notes that daily readings by parents or caregivers provide the greatest opportunity to prepare their child for school and that literacy is a major social determinant of health and economic impact in the long-term.

About Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library

Since launching in 1995, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has become the preeminent early childhood book-gifting program in the world. The flagship program of The Dollywood Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, has gifted well over 182 million free books in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and The Republic of Ireland. The Imagination Library mails more than 2 million high-quality, age-appropriate books each month to enrolled children from birth to age five. Dolly envisioned creating a lifelong love of reading, inspiring children to dream more, learn more, care more and be more. The impact of the program has been widely researched and results suggest positive increases in key early childhood literacy metrics. Penguin Random House is the exclusive publisher for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. For more information, please visit imaginationlibrary.com

Reminder: Live and Work in Maine Community Event for Educators July 19th at the Roux Institute

Live and Work in Maine is hosting a series of community events around the state, and the Maine Department of Education is a partner for their July 19th event for educators.

Please RSVP below.

Details:

Welcome Home event – Portland

July 19th, 2022

Location: Roux Institute, 100 Fore St, Portland, ME 04101

Time: 5-7pm

About: Recently moved to Maine? Are you a Boomerang who decided to move back? Or maybe you’re a community member looking to make new connections. We all call Maine home, so come out to meet others in the community.

RSVP here: www.liveandworkinmaine.com/welcomehome (select Portland/Roux option)

Live and Work in Maine is a nonprofit with the mission of attracting and retaining Maine’s workforce. They are a career network and serve as the leading resource for those looking to relocate, keep, or start their careers in Maine. Learn more at: LiveWorkMaine.com

MTSS Monday Minute, July 11th, 2022 – Reviewing Maine’s MTSS Framework Graphic – Is now available!

Have you seen the most recent MTSS (multi-tiered system of supports) Monday Minute? This week’s M&M features a sort of “fieldtrip” where we navigate over to a video within the video and explore Maine’s MTSS Framework as it appears on the MTSS webpage. In the video we walk through each of the 4 pillars of the framework and briefly explore the components of each pillar.

Summer book club reminder!

All of the available texts for the MTSS summer book clubs have been accounted for, and most have been mailed. The Effective Universal Instruction books are completely mailed, and the few remaining copies of The Knowledge Gap that still need to go out will be mailed later this week. Remember, ALL educators are welcome to join the book discussion by registering below. So, if you have read the book and want to join in, please do so! And, if you are waiting for the Effective Universal Protocol to come out, you can expect that to be mailed by the end of the day, Monday, July 11th.

For further information, reach out to Andrea Logan, Maine DOE Multi-tiered Systems of Support Specialist at andrea.logan@maine.gov.

Live and Work in Maine Community Event for Educators July 19th at the Roux Institute

Live and Work in Maine is hosting a series of community events around the state, and the Maine Department of Education is a partner for their July 19th event for educators.

Please RSVP below.

Details:

Welcome Home event – Portland

July 19th, 2022

Location: Roux Institute, 100 Fore St, Portland, ME 04101

Time: 5-7pm

RSVP here: www.liveandworkinmaine.com/welcomehome (select Portland/Roux option)

2022 Annual Year-End Transportation Reports Are Open

The Maine Department of Education is announcing that the 2022 Annual Year-End Transportation Reports, EFT-21 Safety and Training and EFT-24 Vehicle Mileage and Operations, are open.

School entities may access the reports through the Maine DOE Transportation data system. Both annual reports are located under Annual Data. Instructions to complete transportation reports are located on the Maine DOE Neo Dashboard. Please note that the final step to complete your report submittals is Superintendent authorization. Both transportation reports are due by October 15, 2022.

Timely annual transportation reports provide critical data to support our Maine transportation mission that transportation provided shall conserve the comfort, safety, and welfare of the students conveyed.

If you have questions about access to the transportation reports and technical questions, please contact the Maine DOE Help Desk MEDMS MEDMS.Helpdesk@maine.gov.

Entry-Level Driver Training ‘Under-the-Hood’ Waiver Extended to September 30, 2022

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has extended the Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT) Under-the-Hood waiver until September 30, 2022.

According to FMCSA, the waiver extends the current relief for applicants seeking a CDL with S and P endorsements and the intrastate only (K) restriction. States may, but are not required to, waive the engine compartment component of the pre-trip vehicle inspection skills test for CDL applicants seeking the School bus (S) and Passenger (P) endorsement with the intrastate only (K) restriction. All other CDL skills testing requirements remain in place.

Maine BMV will continue to honor this waiver opportunity, when requested. Please direct questions to the BMV CDL Exams section at 207-624-9000, x 52122.

Registration Open for Computer Science Education Showcase Event at Roux Institute on July 13th

The Maine Department of Education (DOE), in partnership with the Roux Institute, is hosting a Computer Science Education Showcase event to celebrate the great things happening across the state in computer science education! The showcase will highlight educators, students, community organizations, and other partners who are teaching, learning, and expanding access to and participation in computer science education. New to computer science? Not sure what computer science is? Looking to learn more about ways that computer science is taught and learned across the state? This is the event for you! Come and learn about how Maine is paving the way for students and teachers to be successful in the world of computer science.

Join us July 13th, 5pm-6:30pm at the Roux Institute in Portland Maine. Click here to register to attend!

The event is free and highlights include interactive exhibits by educators from schools from across Maine, a special guest speaker and a panel discussion about computer science!

If you have questions or would like to learn more about the Computer Science Showcase, please reach out to the Maine DOE Computer Science Specialist, Emma-Marie Banks at emma-marie.banks@maine.gov .

Employment Specialist Certification Training

The Maine Departments of Labor, Education, and Health and Human Services are pleased to announce the new Working Together Maine Workforce System training led by the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Successful completion of this training leads to an approved Employment Specialist certification that meets the requirements of Maine state agencies to support individuals with disabilities on their paths to employment.

To learn more about this in person training and to register view the flyer.

For additional information or questions, please contact Lara Enein at lara.enein@umb.edu.

New England FFA State Officers Gather in Vermont

Pictured: Maine FFA State Vice President and State President enjoy Lake Champlain Boat Tour during regional FFA training in Vermont.

On June 26-30, 2022, twenty-two student State Officers of the FFA—formerly known as “Future Farmers of America”—from the states of Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont gathered in Middlebury, Vermont to learn about workshop development and presentation techniques, as well as communication skills to implement during their upcoming year of service for their nearly 5,000 FFA members grades 7 to 12. Among these Officers were Nickie Deschaine, Maine FFA State President and Lane McCrum, Maine FFA State Vice President.

New England FFA State Presidents at regional “Checkpoint 1” leadership training, Middlebury, Vermont

Regional FFA Training group, trainers and National FFA Officer

Maine FFA State President Nickie Deschaine and State Vice President Lane McCrum with (left to right): Paxton Dahmer (trainer), Erik Robinson (National Officer), David Lopez (trainer)

FFA members are students enrolled in classes/programs related to agriculture and natural resources at schools with registered FFA chapters. This training was supported by the sponsorship of the Northeast Agricultural Education Foundation, Farm Credit East, and the National FFA Organization. As the largest student-led organization in the country, with over 735,000 members, FFA relies on its State Officers to implement programs for local FFA members, raise FFA member awareness to opportunities in agriculture, natural resources and the FFA and represent their members at various in-state, regional and national events.

The Vermont training took place at the North Campus of the Patricia A. Hannaford Career Center in Middlebury and was facilitated by past National FFA Officers David Lopez (California) and Paxton Dahmer (Missouri), with additional motivational sessions conducted by current National FFA Southern Region Vice President Erik Robinson (Georgia).

Guest presenters Ben Leduc, Loan Officer, and Courtney Bronson, Tax Associate, spoke on the work of Farm Credit East and potential job opportunities for students. FFA Officers participated in a number of highly engaging sessions, enjoyed some outings to local restaurants and locations of interest (such as Crown Point State Historic Site in New York).

Officers commenting on the workshop noted that the main highlight was the chance to return to an in-person opportunity to get to know their peers from other New England states. They left the training indicating significant gains in both their confidence levels and technical abilities associated with developing and implementing workshops. Officers praised the training efforts of both facilitators and the National FFA Officer. Accompanying students were 9 adults from the New England FFA community, including the State Advisors from each of the five participating state programs.