Category: Newsroom Articles

Register Today for the Maine School Safety Summit June 21-23

Please join the Maine Department of Education’s (DOE) Maine School Safety Center for the first annual Maine School Safety Summit.  Along with state-level partners from across Maine, the Maine School Safety Center and Maine Juvenile Justice Advisory Group (JJAG) are proud to invite you to this high level, diverse training opportunity catered specifically for school and district administrators, school resources officers, juvenile community corrections officers, and law enforcement that work directly with schools, in addition to school support staff such as school counselors, social workers, school nurses, and emergency planning and facilities school/district staff members.
LOCATION
Windham High School
406 Gray Road Windham, ME
DATE & TIME
June 21-23, 2022
9:00 AM – 3:00 PMHighlights include:

  • Day one and two there will be a two-day course specifically designed for school/district administrators such as principals and superintendents as well as law enforcement administrators on how to work best together as a team for more effective interactions with youth.  This specialized training presented by Strategies for Youth will be the first of its kind here in Maine.
  • Simultaneously, on days one and two, over 16 different presentations will be available for assistant principals, social workers, school counselors, facilities directors, school safety personnel, SROs, JCCOs, law enforcement who respond to schools, school office staff, educational technicians, and any other school staff who work to make their schools a safer place.
  • Day three will have two tracks. Track one will provide a special session for Transportation Directors and Bus inspectors. Track two will bring all other attendees together to discuss an exciting new way of dealing with youth in crisis entitled, Juvenile Justice Jeopardy, and in the afternoon will be a session entitled Communication in a Diverse World.

Our goal is to create safer schools by offering wraparound total services for Maine students.

For further questions, contact Wendy Robichaud, School Safety Training Coordinator, Maine School Safety Center (MSSC) at wendy.robichaud@maine.gov.
School Safety Summit Save the date

Get to Know the Maine DOE Team: Meet Shari Templeton

Maine DOE Team member Shari Templeton is being highlighted this week as part of the Get to Know the Maine DOE Team Campaign. Learn a little more about Shari in the question and answer below.

What are your roles with DOE?

For the past 8 years I served in the capacity of Science Specialist which kept me in the thick of standards work, science assessment development, providing science professional learning and oversight of several recognition programs for science teachers, students and school initiatives. With the DOE’s recent re-organization to support interdisciplinary learning and a whole student vision, I have transitioned to the role of Interdisciplinary Instruction Specialist and work with a small team to build out resources to support educators in this work.

What do you like best about your job?

Working with teachers and collaborating with state leaders from across the nation.

How or why did you decide on this career?

I started in outdoor education before filling a long-term sub position at a high school in Connecticut. I stayed on at that school while taking courses to complete teacher certification. In 1986 I moved to Maine and continued teaching high school physics, biology and forensic science in the Mid-coast. I loved working with adolescents, igniting or re-igniting that spark in them, sharing my passion for science education while helping them discover their passions. After 31 years in the classroom, I accepted the Science Specialist position at the DOE in hopes of making a greater impact on science education for Maine students in the twilight of my career.

What do you like to do outside of work for fun?

While the days of hiking and packing with my llamas are over, I still enjoy hanging with my last five geriatric llamas. In addition to my camelids, I tend a flock of 30 chickens, work an apiary with 30 bee hives, cuddle with my 5 cats and am sole caretaker for my 96 year old mother. When time allows, I enjoy sea kayaking, golfing, building projects and a good nap.

Seeking Five Distinguished Educators for MLTI Ambassador Positions

Are you passionate about professional growth and technology? Do you want to make a difference in Maine schools? Are you currently teaching in a Maine public school? This might be the opportunity you’ve been looking for! 

The Maine Department of Education is hiring five distinguished educators to join our team in supporting MLTI 2.0 professional learning. These are full-time, two-year, contracted, remote positions. The MLTI distinguished educators will provide instructional technology coaching directly to MLTI participating schools and work closely with the MLTI team to implement the MLTI 2.0 program. Ideal candidates will be excited about instructional coaching and innovative technology practices in education, eager to work with other teachers, have outstanding communication skills, and experience with upper elementary, middle, and/or high school pedagogy. 

Distinguished educator positions are set up as an exchange agreement between the Department of Education and your local school district. Through the agreement, the Department pays your local school for the duration of your contract as a distinguished educator, allowing your school to temporarily fill your vacant position and continue to pay you your current rate while you work as a distinguished educator. Once the two-year contract is complete, you will be able to return to your position within that district. 

Still have questions? Contact the Digital Learning Specialists at the Maine Department of Education to learn more: Jonathan Graham, Elementary Digital Learning Specialist at jonathan.m.graham@maine.gov or Emma-Marie Banks, Computer Science and Secondary Digital Learning Specialist at emma-marie.banks@maine.gov.

 

Nominations Open for John Lewis Youth Leadership Award

The Maine Secretary of State’s Office will be accepting nominations for the John Lewis Youth Leadership Award. The award recognizes one Maine resident, age 25 or younger, who demonstrates leadership abilities, has a passion for social justice, and is improving the quality of life in their community.

The John Lewis Leadership Award is named for the late Congressman John Lewis, who was known for his courageous achievements during the Civil Rights Movement and his long tenure of public service. The National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) established this award in February 2021, inviting Secretaries to recognize a gifted, civic-minded young person in their state each year.

Please consider nominating a student or community member. Visit the John Lewis Youth Leadership Award webpage for more information. Submissions are due Tuesday, May 31, 2022.

2021-2022 School Health Annual Reporting Window is Open

The Maine Department of Education (DOE) is announcing that the School Health Annual Report is now available through the Reporting Calendar. The reporting link is available through the DC&R Calendar and the superintendent will determine who will compile and submit the data from all schools within the SAU. The data does not need to be submitted by your health staff; it can be entered by whomever the Superintendent determines is appropriate. Please remember that these reports once submitted, are manually verified so it may take several weeks for your report to show up in DC&R as completed. This report is due by July 30, 2022.

You may download the reporting worksheet in order to aid data collection among your schools.

Now more than ever, being able to quantify the workload of your school health staff is of utmost importance as we continue in this unprecedented time. Advocating for the multiple needs of your students helps to inform evidence-based school nursing practice and improve overall youth health outcomes. Healthy students are better learners.  If you have questions about the School Health Annual Report, please contact the MDOE School Nurse Consultant, Emily.Poland@Maine.gov.

2022 Annual School Health Survey: https://mainedoe.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8DhfRs2YjzA86I6

Exploring the History of Maine Through Robotics

In the fall of 2022, Ann McClellan asked Maxx Pillsbury, a student of the Sphero Bolt coding program at Mt. View Middle School, how he might use the Bolt to tell a story. Both interested in Maine history, Ms. McClellan and Maxx began exploring using the Bolt to tell the story of ten historically significant places in Maine.

Maxx coded his Bolt to be Samuel de Champlain, an explorer who traveled the coast of Maine. Maxx and Ms. McClellan used a rope to model the nooks and crannies of Maine’s rugged coastline and painted designs on paper to represent characteristics of the area being explored.

Once they planned the layout, Maxx programmed the Bolt. While working, Maxx decided he also wanted the Bolt to narrate the history locations. He wrote a script, chose sounds to enhance the audience’s experience, and found music to play.

You can view a video of the robot moving through the project here:

The final product is impressive and took perseverance and critical thinking to problem solve through challenges that presented themselves throughout the process. For instance, placing the Bolt just right was imperative to its success.

“If the angle was just slightly different when it was set down, then it could mess the whole thing up,” Maxx said.

Ms. McClellan agreed, “Directionals and movement controls were challenging. These had to do with speed, angles, and time. We maintained humor, flexibility, and perseverance, so we got through the programming!”

Maxx is eager to apply what he learned from this project to his other classes. “In my history classes, I will already know some history about early explorers in Maine, and in math class, I can use what I learned about ratios with distance, speed, and time.”

For more information about the Sphero Bolt coding program or other ways to integrate computer science into your curriculum, reach out our computer science specialist, Emma Banks at Emma-Marie.Banks@maine.gov or visit: https://www.maine.gov/doe/learning/ltt/computerscience.

 

Annual Audit Requirements: An Early Reminder

Annual Audit Reports Due December 30th

Annual audit reports are due within six months after the end of the audit period (e.g., reports for the fiscal year ending June 30th are due on or before December 30th). In accordance with Title 20-A, §6051:

  • The auditor is required to review the audit with the school board.
  • It is the school board’s responsibility to submit the annual audit document unless it is stated in the engagement letter that the audit firm will submit the audit to the Maine Department of Education (DOE) on behalf of the school board.
  • Municipal school units are required to submit either a combined annual audit or a school department audit and a municipal audit to the Maine DOE. The municipal annual report (a.k.a. town report) cannot be accepted in lieu of the complete municipal annual audit.
  • The Maine DOE must receive a Schedule of Expenditure of Federal Awards(SEFA), which includes federal award expenditures for all reporting entities, even if a Single Audit (formerly A-133 audit) is not required to be conducted. The SEFA provides information needed by Maine DOE to conduct sub-recipient monitoring as required by the US Department of Education and is due at the time of the annual audit.

In municipal school units where a combined audit is not conducted, Maine DOE should receive two audits: an audit with a SEFA for the school department, and an audit for the city/town including a SEFA.

  • If a management letter is prepared by the auditor, a copy must be submitted to Maine DOE with the annual audit, as this letter provides us with information needed to conduct sub-recipient monitoring, as required by US DOE.

Extensions and Subsidy Payments

If an extension or exception is needed for the deadline to submit either the municipal or school department audit, the superintendent must contact us to request the extension.

The forms are available on the Fiscal Review and Compliance webpage, under forms on the menu bar.

  • Initial extension requests will be for a period of 2 months, and 30 days thereafter.
  • Extension requests will be considered until June 30th (six months after due date); extensions will not be valid after June 30th and all municipalities and school administrative units with overdue audits which have not submitted an extension request before May 31th may have a delay in subsidy release. Those who have not submitted an extension request will have subsidy withheld until addressed.

Please submit all annual audit documents, reports, information requests, questions and other audit correspondence via email to DOE.Audit@Maine.gov.

Education Commissioner Pender Makin Visits Kingman Elementary School

This week, Maine Education Commissioner Pender Makin visited Kingman Elementary School, one of Maine’s Education in Unorganized Territory (EUT) schools. Makin brought miniature rosebushes to the three educators at the school to celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week, observed in classrooms, met with students and with staff, joined recess, and enjoyed lunch with students.

Kingman implements a multi-age/multi-grade classroom model for students in grades pre-k through six who live in the townships of Kingman and Prentiss.

“This is truly a unique learning environment,” Makin said. “In a region where there are no businesses or establishments other than the school itself, and where families typically live significant distances from one another, the school creates the only community outside of individual families.”

Also, be sure to watch Commissioner Makin’s message to Maine’s educators for Teacher Appreciation Week.

Nominate an MLTI Educator for the End of Year Expo!

MLTI is launching an End of Year Expo event to celebrate educators and the work they do to support the use of technology in teaching and learning. Are you or someone you know an MLTI educator using technology in fun and innovative ways? Submit an entry to the expo and join us to share these achievements at our exhibition!

The exhibition will take place at the University of Maine in Orono, at the Collins Center for the Arts, on June 25, 2022. All entries will have the opportunity to present at the expo and share their work with other educators. The expo will be free and open to all MLTI educators. Exhibiters will be treated to a luncheon and an awards ceremony after the exhibition to celebrate their exciting use of technology in teaching and learning.

The MLTI End of Year Expo features six categories of recognition. To learn more about these categories, check out this infographic and nominate an educator using this form!

For more information about the MLTI End of Year Expo, check out our website.

 

Dedicated Maine State Board Member Peter Geiger Celebrated as Term Ends

Pictured (L to R): Senator Nathan Libby, Representative Margaret Craven, Peter Geiger, Representative Kristen Cloutier, and Representative Jonathan Connor.

Peter Geiger, past Vice Chair for the Maine State Board of Education, was presented a Legislative Sentiment by Senator Nathan Libby at the Board’s April 13th business meeting prior to Geiger’s term ending at the end of April.

Geiger served almost 13 years on the State Board, including two years as Chair and over three years as Vice Chair.  He recently chaired the School Construction Committee and Legislative Action Committee of the Board, served on the Professional Standards Board, Maine Teacher of the Year Committee, and numerous other committees during his tenure on the State Board, 1992-1997, 2012-2017, and 2019-2022.

Fern Desjardins, Chair of the State Board of Education, stated, “Peter works tirelessly in support of policies and services to strengthen educational opportunities for Maine’s students and schools.  His strong advocacy for education has been a life-long passion that has benefited students and educators throughout Maine for many years.”

Geiger is the Editor of the Farmers’ Almanac and Executive Vice President of Geiger, a family owned business for four generations.  He has been active in numerous community and education organizations.  Geiger is a resident of Lewiston.

Replacing Geiger from District I is Kristin Bishop of Madison.  Bishop previously served on the Maine State Board of Education as a Student Representative in her junior and senior year at Madison Area Memorial High School.  She is a graduate of Bowdoin College in Brunswick and works in the Office of Civic Engagement and Community Partnerships at Colby College in Waterville.  Bishop will be joining the State Board for her first Business Meeting on May 11 at the Cross State Office Building in Augusta.