Free Professional Development Webinar: Overview & Preparation Tips for the NextGen Accuplacer

Reach Higher Maine has developed this series of free webinars designed to help support school counselors in their work exposing students to career and college opportunities.

Each webinar is recorded and posted to our Google Classroom (join code 1bs991n) and available to counselors as an alternative professional development session for use during In Service Days at their school. The Google Classroom also hosts handouts from sessions, a discussion forum and a way to request a certificate of completion to use for continuing education credit. Note: You will need to be logged into a Google email (@gmail.com) account to get access to the Google Classroom.

December’s Webinar: Overview & Preparation Tips for the NextGen Accuplacer

When: December 15^th at 1:00 PM (recording will post to Google Classroom within 1 week after live session)

Description: The Accuplacer has long been a viable testing alternative for many Maine students. The College Board has revised its entire suite of assessments, and the NextGen test will be here in Maine soon. This webinar will be a practical and succinct overview of NextGen and a discussion of how school counselors can prepare for these changes. We will also address how the colleges plan to help schools who used to have their own Accuplacer licenses test students and how the community colleges’ admission and placement policies will be shifting towards a statewide multiple measures approach.

Presenter: Mercedes Pour, State Director, Early College for ME, Maine Community College System

Upcoming webinars include: Second Semester Seniors, Summer Options for Career & College, as well as Helping Career Bound Seniors

For more information please contact Reach Higher Maine at ReachHigherMaine@gmail.com

Regional school calendars due by May 4

School administrative units and private schools approved for tuition purposes are expected to establish regional school calendars, in coordination with their local secondary career and technical education school, by May 4, 2018.

The Legislature enacted that requirement as part of Public Law 2011, Chapter 686, which expands access to career and technical education in Maine and ensures that students completing career and technical education (CTE) coursework have greater access to post-secondary opportunities. Specifically, the law addresses scheduling conflicts that pose barriers to students by requiring that those school districts and private schools approved for tuition purposes that share a CTE school adopt a regional school calendar with no more than five dissimilar days. Implementation of the law is intended to promote collaboration among local school administrative units that may benefit other forms of inter-administrative unit collaboration beyond CTE. The law became effective Aug. 30, 2012, and establishing the regional calendar is a condition for eligibility for state subsidy.

For 2018-19, both regional school calendars and individual calendars for each school administrative unit must be submitted by the director of the local CTE Center/Region to the Department of Education no later than May 4 for a decision on approval by June 8. Guidance and templates can be accessed electronically at www.maine.gov/doe/regionalcalendar/.

Given the coordination required for fulfillment of this law, the Maine DOE recommends that school districts initiate discussions as soon as possible, including representatives from all affected secondary schools and their associated career and technical education center or region.

For more information including guidance, templates, a waiver process and a link to the complete law, please visit www.maine.gov/doe/regionalcalendar/ or contact Doug Robertson (doug.robertson@maine.gov) at 624-6744 or Margaret Harvey (margaret.harvey@maine.gov) at 624-6739.

Family Code Night Comes to Maine

Next week, children and their parents will come together to learn how to code. It’s Computer Science Education Week (December 4-8), and 75 sites across Maine will host Family Code Nights. Specially designed for elementary-aged students, these events use Hour of Code puzzles that introduce programming principles through fun games.

While many schools do Hour of Code, Scratch, and other web-based computer science activities, Family Code Night is unique. It was started in the San Francisco Bay area by a parent of an elementary student. He saw the importance of involving parents in the activities because they can advocate for their children to continue learning to code after the event is done. Maine has many opportunities for youth to explore coding, including summer camps, app challenges and family events. You can find them on the STEM Resource Bank at steminme.org.

Volunteers at Family Code Nights include teachers, librarians, parents and other community members. Many sites are enlisting the help of teens who have experience with coding. Family Code Night provides an event kit that includes everything needed to plan and host the event, so leaders do not need to be experts at coding to run a successful evening!

Family Code Night is a national movement supported in Maine by The Reach Center, a program of Maine Mathematics & Science Alliance. Visit mmsa.org/familycodenight to see a list of sites hosting events, which includes schools, libraries or community organizations representing each county.

For more information contact Maine Department of Education Science and Technology Content Specialist, Shari Templeton at Shari.Templeton@maine.gov or (207) 624-6880.

Maine Delegates and State Advisor Participate in National FFA Convention

On October 25-28, 2017, the National FFA Organization (formerly known as “Future Farmers of America”) celebrated its 90^th National Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana. The FFA was established in 1928 as the leadership organization representing students enrolled in agriculture and natural resources programs. At the middle and secondary levels, current membership is over 500,000 and over 60,000 members attended the Convention. Representing Maine as delegates participating in business sessions and voting on all proposed changes were Maine FFA President Kaley Norsworthy and Maine FFA Vice President Isabelle Wright. Delegates actively debated and made proposals on areas related to the content of competitions, providing additional opportunities to students and accommodating students with special needs. Accompanying Maine’s delegates was State Advisor Doug Robertson of the Maine Department of Education, who was chosen as one of this year’s recipients for the Honorary American FFA Degree. Honorary Degrees are presented to individuals who have provided exceptional service on a national level to agriculture, agricultural education, or FFA.

Maine’s Agriculture and Natural Resources Students Learn About Leadership and Service

Community Service – Students, led by State FFA Vice President Isabelle Wright, enact food security simulation

Student leaders of the Maine FFA Association (formerly known as “Future Farmers of America”) conducted leadership workshops for over 150 students on November 13 & 17, 2017 in locations of Augusta and Presque Isle. Maine FFA serves middle and secondary students enrolled in programs related to agriculture and natural resources, providing them with leadership training, competitions, scholarships, travel opportunities and the chance to get recognition for their work. At the leadership workshops, through talks and hands-on activities, students examined topics of personal authenticity, opportunities in FFA, and community service. Exemplifying the area of community service, participants brought to the workshop donations to a local food pantry. At the Presque Isle workshop, students also discussed issues of food security in the world. Maine’s student State Officers, Kaley Norsworthy (President), Isabelle Wright (Vice President) and Micayla Driscoll (Secretary-Treasurer) entirely developed and presented both workshops. Accompanying the officers was Doug Robertson, State FFA Advisor from the Maine Department of Education. At the conclusion of the workshop, students discussed possible follow-up service activities they might undertake in their local communities. Maine FFA involves over 500 students in leadership development and the chance to access the many opportunities and resources of the National FFA Organization. For further information, please contact: Doug Robertson, State FFA Advisor, doug.robertson@maine.gov 207-624-6744

FFA — Competition – Students participate in “Family Feud” activity with host “Steve Harvey”

FFA — Human Knot – Students engage in teamwork to extricate themselves from entanglement.

Resources for Alcohol Awareness Day, December 4, 2017

Community groups and schools across the state will be raising awareness about alcohol use and abuse on Monday December 4, Alcohol Awareness Day and throughout Maine’s Alcohol Awareness Week December 4 through 8.

The State of Maine recognizes the need for schools and community organizations to address alcohol issues through Maine statute. The statute reads, in part: “Alcohol Awareness Day, the first Monday in December, shall be observed by studying, for at least 45 minutes, a constructive approach toward the use of alcohol and the problems and dangers of alcohol abuse upon the individual, the family, and society.”

Teachers seeking assistance in planning an Alcohol Awareness Day activity may contact the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Tobacco and Substance Use Prevention and Control Program at (207) 287-8901, TTY 711 or email: TSUP.DHHS@maine.gov. Pamphlets may be requested through our new Prevention Store in limited quantities at www.mainepreventionstore.com.

It is important that Maine students be provided with age-appropriate education and awareness about alcohol, tobacco and other drug use. This should be part of a comprehensive school health education, Pre-K through High School curriculum alignment to the Maine Learning Results for Health Education. Activities scheduled for Alcohol Awareness Day and/or week should be part of the curriculum,

This Alcohol Awareness Day, consider using one or more of the following resources to prepare a message or activity to enhance your existing health education curriculum.

“When you say No to Alcohol, what are you saying yes to?”. This online video that includes a discussion guide provides profiles of five Maine students who discuss their interests as well and reasons for choosing not to drink. The simple message of the video for middle and high school students is that despite assumptions, not all students drink.

The Maine CDC Tobacco and Substance Use Prevention and Control Program also offers a guide to help schools create, update, and enforce a substance use policy. The guide, “Substance Use Policy: A Comprehensive Guide for School Policy Development” was updated in 2016 and provides practical suggestions for a complete policy, based on research and best practices.

Due Date for Graduation and Dropout Reporting Extended to 12/21

The Department of Education has extended the due date for the Graduation and Dropout report to December 21, 2017.

Districts will gain access to the graduation module in NEO on December 4, 2017 and will have access to complete Graduation and Dropout report through December 21, 2017. Please note that there will be multiple districts that are required to submit these reports for the first time. If your district has never completed this report, be sure to check DC & R to see if it is now required.

Instructions for completing this report:

The reports can be accessed through DC & R or through NEO directly.

As a reminder, along with the attending district reporting requirements there are now responsible district reporting requirements as well.
Login issues: If you can log in to NEO but do not see the graduation tab or if you find that you cannot login; you will need a NEO access request form to be filled out and then signed by the superintendent. Send completed forms to the MEDMS help desk.

If you need assistance with the Graduation reports or have questions you may email Travis Wood, or call 624-6742; or email Leda Cunningham, or call 624-6897.

For other questions about NEO or the Graduation module contact Maine DOE Help Desk at MEDMS.Helpdesk@maine.gov or 207-624-6896.

Maine DOE joins the nation in celebration of “American Education Week”

In a Presidential Memoranda from The White House on Friday, November 10th President Donald Trump proclaimed November 12 – November 18, 2017 as American Education week.

“As we celebrate American Education Week, we are reminded of the vital importance of education for our children, for our communities, and for our world.”

The Maine Department of Education joins The White House and education communities around the nation to recognize and celebrate the hard work and determination of Maine students, their families, educators and schools as they strive for achievement and success.

See the full proclamation on The White House website.

2017 Maine Integrated Youth health Survey Data

The 2017 MIYHS data has just been released. State and public health district data is available to the public for the 5^th and 6^th grade survey, as well as the middle and high school surveys. Kindergarten and third grade parent survey data is available at the State level. Go to MIYHS website: https://data.mainepublichealth.gov/miyhs/2017_reports_results

Over 61,000 students from 300+ schools participated in this past survey. MIYHS is administered as a collaborative project involving Maine DOE and Maine DHHS in February of every odd year to gauge the health and health habits of Maine public school students in grades kindergarten through grade 12. Many thanks to the superintendents and principals who have chosen to participate in this biennial survey over the years!

2017 State level Snapshots for K/3, 5/6, Middle School and High School are available by clicking: https://data.mainepublichealth.gov/miyhs/2017Snapshots

For more information contact Maine Department of Education Health and Physical Education Consultant, Jean Zimmerman at Jean.zimmerman@maine.gov or (207) 624-6687.

Tutoring for students who receive special education

The Maine Department of Education’s Office of Special Education would like to remind special educators about the provision of specially designed instruction on IEPs.

When students are out of school because of discipline, an abbreviated school day, or medical reasons, tutoring may be provided as a short-term measure to ensure that students receive instruction. Tutoring is not specially designed instruction.

Schools should make every effort, including re-entry plans and proposals for definitive placements, to ensure that students with disabilities are enrolled and attending school. The IEP must be revised to add tutorial instruction.

For more information view Maine Unified Special Education Regulation (MUSER) or contact Maine Department of Special Services Director, Jan Breton at Janice.breton@maine.gov . (207) 624-6676.