Category: Newsroom Articles

Maine Educators Celebrated at Annual Teacher of the Year Gala

The Teacher of the Year Program hosted its annual Gala this past weekend on Saturday, November 16th at Portland Sheraton at Sable Oaks. The event honors Maine educators that have been named County Teacher of the Year and Teacher of the Year with a banquet, reception, and awards ceremony.

IMG_3222The event featured remarks from 2019 Teacher of the Year Joseph Hennessey, an English Teacher at Piscataquis Community High School who is finishing his year-long designation as the 2019 Teacher of the Year. Commissioner Makin received a standing ovation as she urged all present to elevate the status of educators in Maine, as their work is the single most important assurance of a thriving democracy.  Incoming 2020 Teacher of the Year Heather Whitaker also addressed the audience, reminding the audience that the foundation of learning is built on relationships of trust and compassion. Ms. Whitaker was presented with a custom Maine licence plate from Maine’s Secretary of State, Mathew Dunlap, a tradition each year.

During the Awards ceremony, County Teachers of the Year were each provided with a crystal apple award, a County Teacher of the Year banner, totes filled with Maine products donated by Maine businesses (sponsored by Live and Work in Maine), in addition to free registration to the annual ACTEM Conference (provided by ACTEM). 

In addition to the above awards, Semi Finalists, State Finalists, and the Teacher of the Year each received a hand thrown pottery bowl with their names on it (sponsored by Maine TOY Association and Maine State Board of Education). The Teacher of the Year was also given an IPad (provided by ACTEM).

2019 County Teachers of the Year: Androscoggin County, Shawn Rice; Aroostook County, Kim Barnes; Cumberland County, Heather Whitaker; Franklin County, Robert Taylor; Hancock County, Nell Herrmann; Kennebec County: Emily Bowen; Knox County, Thomas Gray; Oxford County, Linda Andrews; Penobscot County, Tracy Deschaine; Piscataquis County, Bobbi Tardif; Sagadahoc County, Charles Bingham; Somerset County, Katherine Bertini; Waldo County, Ashley Reynolds; Washington County, Jeanna Carver; York County, Ethel Atkinson.

Semi Finalists: Jeanna Carver, Tracy Deschaine, Thomas Gray, Ashley Reynolds, Shawn Rice, Bobbi Tardif, Robert Taylor, Heather Whitaker

State finalists: Thomas Gray, Robert Taylor, Heather Whitaker

2020 Teacher of the Year: Heather Whitaker

The event also includes keynote remarks and honors for many of the program’s partners and sponsors including Educate Maine, who administers the program, the Maine Department of Education, and the Maine State Board of Education. Funding for the program is generously provided by Bangor Savings Bank, Dead River, Geiger, Hannaford, Maine Lottery, and Pratt and Whitney.

The Teacher of the Year Program is a year-long process that, each year, through a rigorous selection process, names an educator from each county as County Teacher of the Year, and names one educator as Maine Teacher of the Year. Any educator can be nominated by a member of their community for the Teacher of the Year Program. The nomination process begins in January each year.

Locally Grown STEAM Showcase Begins Maine Tour at Brewer Community School

Maine Educators and brothers Keith and Kern Kelley from RSU 19 are heading up a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics) Showcase this school year, that aims to fill the workforce gap in Maine by bringing more STEAM opportunities to Maine students and teachers.

This past summer, 14 educators from across Maine participated in a 3 credit Introduction to Experiential Teaching through Technology offered by EMMC and UTC, and taught by the Kelley brothers. The idea of the training is to bring the experiential teaching philosophy to Maine classrooms, offering more than traditional makerspaces and shop classes. In a train the trainer method, the course came with a STEAMroller cart full of equipment and tools that educators can take back to the school to share with colleagues, and also comes with the opportunity for a visit from the STEAM Showcase.

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STEAM Showcase Bus (Photo credit: Riley Bridges, media studies student at RSU 19)

The Showcase, which has officially begun its tour in Brewer, is a refurbished bus full of equipment and tools that goes on the road, literally, to bring STEAM breakout sessions to Maine students and teachers. The sessions feature coding with drones, virtual reality programming, 3D design and printing, and an escape room challenge that takes place inside the bus.

At the Brewer Community School Showcase this week, four classes of 7th graders and their teachers participated in a day full of breakout sessions hosted by high school students known as Tech Sherpas. The Tech Sherpas are a group of students from RSU 19 who are interested in technology and integrating it into education. They are students of Kern Kelley, and are known to accompany him to speaking engagements on the topic of STEAM and technology integration, in addition to presenting themselves both nationally and internationally.

Brewer Community School 7th grade teacher Rob Dominic took the EMMC course this past summer and has been using the STEAMroller cart so far this year. He said he was originally interested in the course because he wanted to help “start and build a culture” within his 7th grade team and at his school that integrates STEAM into their lessons to provide students with experiential learning opportunities that engage them in new ways. He said that already that day, his colleagues were having conversations about how they could use the day’s experience to improve future learning opportunities. For example, one teacher came up with the idea of using virtual reality to do character analysis in English Language Arts lessons.  Dominic says the STEAMroller cart and the experiential learning opportunities were a welcome addition to his team and that his colleagues were eager to learn more and start using the tools.

From here the STEAM Showcase will go on to visit the schools of other educators that took the course, in hopes of engaging yet more teachers and students in this train the trainer method of bringing experiential and STEAM learning opportunities to Maine classrooms.

This article was written by Maine DOE Staff Rachel Paling in collaboration with Brewer Community School, RSU 19, and UTC. Many of the photos used for this article were taken by Riley Bridges, media studies student at RSU 19. The article is part of the Maine DOE’s Maine Schools Sharing Success campaign. If you have an idea or submission for the campaign, email Rachel at rachel.paling@maine.gov.

The Windham Eagle Lifestyles: Manchester school students celebrate National Farm to School Movement

This article was written by Maine student Joe McNerney.

Hands were washed and chef hats were on as fourth and fifth grade students entered the cafeteria. In the middle of many tables, freshly grown carrots were set and ready to be used. This is what the scene looked like on Monday, November 4 at Manchester School. In a recent press release, it was announced that the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation & Forestry and the Maine Department of Education teamed up with the Manchester School to promote the growing farm-to-school movement in Maine.

“The students participated in a day of activities to celebrate growing, harvesting and eating local food. The event was designed to raise awareness about the importance of local food, school gardens and the relationship schools are developing with local farms to provide fresh, quality fruits, vegetables and produce to Maine schools,” stated the press release.

Stacey Sanborn, fourth grade teacher, explained how the food is grown by the students. “We tend to the hoop house all school year,” she said. “Students help maintain and pick vegetables and sometimes we are able to send the food home that has been produced by the student for students in need.”

Briefly, a hoop house is a form of greenhouse that consist of a series of large hoops or bows—made of metal, plastic pipe or wood covered by heavy plastic. It is heated by the sun and cooled by the wind. Although winter is coming, and some students may be less than thrilled to trudge through snow, they will none the less keep up on the hoop house.

Ryan Roderick, head chef and nutrition coordinator for and Jeanne Reilly, director of school nutrition,
led the educational sessions with the students. During the class, students from fourth and fifth grades made fresh curried carrot soup and carrot muffins.

Students had the opportunity to wash, peel, chop carrots and onions as well as sauté the vegetables. For the muffins, students grated carrots, measured and mixed the ingredients and portioned them into muffin cups. At the end of the class, students and teachers all were able to try the soup and muffins made with carrots from their school garden and fully experience what the farm-to-school experience is all about.

“It was refreshing to see young faces so excited about cooking,” stated Pam Lanz who had worked with the school for 21 years as a guidance counselor prior to taking up her post as garden leader. “Many of the students are hesitant to try most of the vegetables. However, when peers try, they are more likely to give it a chance.”

Once the ingredients were ready, some students prepared muffins while the others prepared the carrot curry soup. Which was garnished with Greek yogurt and chives.

Students all agreed and said with pride after eating the food they had prepared, “The food tasted better because we cooked it.”
Teaching kids at a young age that there is value to growing and making your own food is outstanding. It teaches the art of horticulture and self-sustainability. “Many of our students tale home what they learn,” Sanborn said. “They share it with parents and hopefully they in turn will start gardening more.”

Lanz quickly agreed, “We want to make backyard farmers out of them all.”
The Manchester School is one of the more than 400 Maine schools that participate in a farm-to-school program. The event was designed to raise awareness about the importance of local food, school gardens and the relationship schools are developing with local farms to provide fresh, quality fruits, vegetables and produce to Maine schools.

Portland High School Partner Spotlight: Tyler Karu

Submitted by Andrea Levinsky, Extended Learning Opportunities Coordinator, Portland High School. Each month we will feature a community partner. We are excited to open this series with Tyler Karu!

Tyler Karu of Tyler Karu Design and Interiors has been an incredible partner of Portland High’s Extended Learning Opportunities since November of 2016. She has participated in every possible opportunity including hosting students for job shadow day and internships in addition to serving on career panels and doing mock interviews for 9th graders.

Tyler was inspired to start working with Portland High because she wanted to set an example of a strong woman in business. She says, “I wanted to be example of someone who can make a mark in my own little community…[I wanted to show that] women have a seat at the table and can do anything we want.” 

She has continued to work with Portland High School over the years because she is inspired by the students. She finds that the student body is interested and engaged. She says, “There aren’t a lot of high schools that prepare students for real life. I think Portland High just does such a good job with that and it makes kids more interested in job and professional life and learning about careers and future directions. I think Portland High is preparing the students for life skills.”

To other businesses that want to get involved, she says that, “It is our responsibility as business owners and professional people to reach back out into the community and offer help and support. What better group to reach out to than high schoolers who are thinking about the next step in their lives?”

Through Extended Learning Opportunities, Tyler is able to “make a difference on a fundamental and pragmatic level,” she says. “there’s nothing more valuable.”

Business partners make a profound impact in students as well. In her internship with Tyler, Gloria Sanchez was able to solidify her passion for her chosen career path of interior design. She gained experience in creating designs and working with clients. Gloria was even hired by the company for a summer job following her internship!

We are so grateful for Tyler’s continued partnership and her leadership in supporting our students. If you are interested in getting involved with Portland High School’s Extended Learning Opportunities program through job shadows, mock interviews, internships, or career panels. Please contact Andrea Levinsky, Extended Learning Opportunities Coordinator at levina@portlandschools.org. 

Educator Forum: Building Trauma-Sensitive Schools

Thursday, December 5, 2019, 4:30-6:00 pm
301 Bailey Hall, University of Southern Maine
16 University Way, Gorham, ME

Explore the impact of trauma on the social, emotional, and academic growth of students in this interactive workshop. Topics to be covered include Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), trauma-sensitive schools, restorative practices, and the importance of establishing a culture of self-care. Attendees will be grouped by grade level and engage in dialogue geared towards making their own classrooms and schools more trauma sensitive. The intended audience for this Forum is all school employees who work with students in grades pre-K through 8.

Registration: Register here (https://forms.gle/UkE2Ft1f3qPzpjdW9) OR Download a PDF registration form (PDF)

Cost for attendance is $15 per person, and includes certificate for 1.5 contact hours. Light refreshments will be provided.

NOTE: If you do not end up attending, payment is still due, as your registration holds a spot for you and is figured into the head count for refreshments. If you cancel your registration by November 27, your fee will be waived/refunded.

Facilitators:

  • Jeanna Carver, Pre-K Teacher, 2019 Washington County Teacher of the Year, Jonesport Elementary School
  • Heather Whitaker, Alternative Education Teacher, 2019 Cumberland County Teacher of the Year, 2020 Maine State Teacher of the Year, Gorham Middle School
  • Jen Baker, Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, Village Elementary School, Gorham
  • Meghan O’Neil, Grade 4 Teacher, Village Elementary School, Gorham

Educator Forums are professional development events for educators of similar positions or responsibilities to explore new or best practices in their field. Forums provide an opportunity for educators to engage with peers, build new understandings from prior knowledge, and reflect on past practices.

Contact the PDC with any questions:

Julie Marsh, Program Coordinator
Professional Development Center
University of Southern Maine
pdc@maine.edu
207-780-5400

Green Ribbon Schools

The Maine Department of Education is pleased to announce that Maine is joining the U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools initiative to inspire and promote effective school sustainability and collaboration. The award highlights sustainability practices undertaken at the school, district, or post-secondary institution level that are cost-saving and health promoting.
The U.S. Department of Education developed three Pillars of a green school:

  1. Reducing environmental impacts, e.g. waste, energy, transportation, etc.
  2. Improving health and wellness of schools, students and staff through consideration of school food, air quality, physical activity, etc.
  3. Offering environmental and sustainability education that is authentic, civically engaging and green career preparing.

More information regarding Green Ribbon Schools can be found on the USDOE website, and Maine’s Green Ribbon Schools application should be submitted to shari.templeton@maine.gov.

PRIORITY NOTICE: Proposed Reinstatement of Rule Chapter 115 (The Credentialing of Education Personnel Rules) Part II Requirements for Specific Certificates and Endorsements

The State Board is proposing the reinstatement of Chapter 115 Part II: Requirements for Specific Certificates and Endorsements, which was in effect May 14, 2014. This rule, following the emergency adoption of the same version of Chapter 115, maintains the status quo for credentialing at this time, and will be in effect until such time as the State Board develops new Chapter 115 rules.

Find the details for proposed changes for Rule Chapter 115 on the Maine DOE Proposed Rule & Rule Changes webpage (proposed rules are listed in order by rule number).

Public Hearing Information for Rule Chapter 115:

  • December 16, 2019 from 9:30am- 11:00am
  • Room 500 in the Cross State Office Building, 111 Sewall Street, Augusta, Maine
  • All are welcome to attend, and no RSVP is required.  Anyone unable to attend the public hearing may send written comments via email to jaci.holmes@maine.gov or by mailing comments to:

Maine Department of Education
attention: Jaci Holmes
23 State House Station
Augusta, ME  04333-0023

Comment Period Deadline: December 27, 2019

 

Students Learn What it is Like to be an Educator at Thomas College Teacher Academy

With a steep teacher shortage facing many communities in Maine, Thomas College and the Maine Department of Education teamed up to offer a daylong experimental teaching environment to further engage Maine students who are interested in teaching as a profession.

Students from all over Maine spent the day at Thomas College to learn more about what it’s like to be a teacher. The aspiring educators were able to participate in college level education courses offered by Thomas College professors Richard Biffle, Katie Rybakova, and by Lawrence High School teacher, Eric Brown.

The courses covered lessons in social emotional learning, inclusion, STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics education, and an overview of lesson planning and implementation – what to expect (or not expect), how to think on your feet, and how make the content relevant to students. The event aimed to give students a better understanding of education as a career path, by providing hands-on experiences that can help solidify their career aspirations, and at the same time give them a taste of post-secondary education.

The unique event drew coverage from WABI and Central Maine among others who were eager to report on a collaborative effort that aims to tackle the workforce shortage of teachers in the state of Maine.

Tammy Ranger, Maine DOE Educator Excellence Coordinator and Ed Cervone, Thomas College Executive Director of the Center for Innovation in Education
Thomas College Education Majors helping with the Teacher’s Academy: Delaina Ferrell, Lillian Friars, and Meghan Stover

 

Reaching for the Stars Starts with a Strong Ground Crew

Jessica Meir declared in first grade that she wanted to be an astronaut – and she meant it. Meir made history with the first all-female space walk from the International Space Station nearly 25 years after graduating from Caribou High School. While it may seem to have been a certainty in the rear view, getting to the ISS wasn’t always a sure thing. Meir was denied acceptance to the space program on her first application. Perseverance paid off and Meir eventually became the astronaut she had always envisioned.

When Caribou High School principal Travis Barnes learned in January that Meir was likely to be going to space, he wanted his students to get involved. No one knew then that Dr. Meir would be making history as a member of the first all-female spacewalk, but Barnes knew his students had a rare opportunity to participate in a space talk. He began the monumental work required to secure a NASA “uplink” to provide students in RSU 39 the opportunity to speak to Meir in real time.

Being an astronaut’s alma mater is not reason enough to be accepted. The application had to demonstrate extensive support and involvement of the whole community and significant impact on student learning and aspirations. Developing the application for NAS meant Barnes and his teachers had to develop a myriad of opportunities to both inspire and support RSU 39 students to dream big in a small town. The RSU 39 ground crew had to include staff, students, and community to meet the rigorous requirements set by NASA. The space talk was only part of the big day.

Assembling the Ground Crew: Staff

Middle school teachers Kim Barnes, Susan Keaton, Arik Jepson, Twyla Learnard, Cheryl Pelletier, Jennifer Crawford and high school teachers Shannon Sleeper, Jessica Bell, Kayla Brown, Peg Conologue, Jessica Doucette worked with students through an inquiry process to develop a deeper understanding of the International Space Station, the current mission and tasks, issues facing the space program, and Jessica Meir’s personal journey into space. Motivated by the opportunity to speak to Meir, students worked to review and revise the questions forwarded to NASA. See those questions here.

Assembling the Ground Crew: Community

CHS Alum

CHS alum visited the school and provided students other lenses into career development and goal setting. While Jessica Meir stayed focused on her goal throughout her life, many others meandered to find their pathways and develop careers, some never considered or even known. Dustin Damboise and Jamie Corrigan created a trivia game with facts about their high school, college, and work experiences, asking students to match the facts with the person. With more than two majors listed and neither matching either job title provided, Damboise and Corrigan demonstrated to students how exploration and an open mind can lead to identifying a gratifying career. CHS alums Dan McCormack (’91), CEO of InterMed, and Darcie McElwee (’91), Assistant United States Attorney, also shared their “space walks,” encouraging students to take advantage of different opportunities, such as an internship or the military. McCormack and McElwee stressed how perseverance learned at Caribou High School shaped their journeys to career success. In total, more than a dozen graduates of CHS returned to the launch pad to support student aspirations.

Caribou and All of Maine

Other activities during the day demonstrated the importance of staying healthy despite rigorous work, sessions that focused on health and wellness, and sessions to explore potential career paths in the medical field. Denis St. Peter, PE President and CEO of CES, Inc. as well as a 1986 CHS graduate, brought three engineers with him to expose students to new experiences in the engineering world including: Game of Drones with Josh Maker (Survey Technician, Surveying Division); Watershed Down with Justine Drake (Engineer, Engineering Division); Go with the Flow with Andrea Dickinson (EI, Senior Project Engineer, Environmental Division). Students learned about the science behind protective gear, research about creating jet fuel from wood, coding, outdoor survival and much more thanks to support from agencies such as the Caribou Fire Department, Maine Emergency Management, and the Maine Forest Service. [insert photo here?] See a complete list of all the companies, agencies, organizations who were part of the RSU 39 Ground Crew.

Blast Off: Uplink with the International Space Station

Middle and high school students assembled in the auditorium of the Caribou Performing Arts Center as NASA prepared the uplink. Selected students presented questions directly to Dr. Meir. Dr. Meir was appropriately impressed by the demonstration of understanding of her work on the ISS and of other issues regarding technology and the environment as well as Dr. Meir’s personal journey to the ISS.

Students in grades K-5 remained in their respective buildings, remotely watching Jessica Meir talk to students at Caribou High School. Their day included student choice STEM activities led by classroom teachers designed to develop student creativity and problem-solving skills. Some of the sessions included Sphero rockets, designing space helmets, virtual reality, catapult execution, launching straw rockets, and trying astronaut ice cream.

A tremendous amount of time and planning was involved in making this day such an overwhelming success.  The “ground crews” ensured everyone who participated had a blast!

This article was written by Maine DOE English Language Arts Specialist, Morgan Dunton in collaboration with school staff from Caribou schools. The article is part of the Maine Schools Sharing Success Campaign. For ideas or submissions for Maine Schools Sharing Success, email Rachel at rachel.paling@maine.gov.