Maine 2016 School Nurse of the Year, along with some retiring school nurses, were honored last week for their years of not only service to Maine’s schools but the nurturing they have given to our children. “The nurses in this room total hundreds of years of nursing,” said Nancy Dube, the Maine Department of Education’s nurse consultant.
Continue reading “School nurses recognized at the Blaine House”
Maine’s Director of the Maine Schools for Excellence (MSFE) grant initiative, Scott Harrison, recently traveled to Washington D.C. to brief Maine Senators Susan Collins and Angus King on the accomplishments MSFE’s ten school districts have made in their efforts to create collaborative, improvement-focused educator effectiveness programs.
Apple, maple, oat muffin tops, a spinoff of a banana spilt made with yogurt, a decorated hard-boiled egg, and a beat and berry smoothie were on the breakfast menu as two teams of school food service employees took to the kitchen at Kennebec Valley Community College this week. This was the final round of Maine’s first Farm to School Cook-off designed to promote using local products in school lunches.
Continue reading “Team Knox Rocks take State award in Farm to School Cook-off”
The Maine Department of Education is pleased to announce the partnership of Edupoint Educational Systems to bring the power and flexibility of their Synergy Student Information System to Maine. The new Synergy system will replace the current state-level student information and reporting system, Infinite Campus State Edition (ICSE). Infinite Campus will continue as Maine DOE’s student data system in the interim until Synergy is fully installed, configured and tested.
Continue reading “Enhanced student information system to replace Infinite Campus State Edition”
The Maine Department of Education, Maine Geographic Alliance, and the Maine GIS User Group are collaborating with local teacher-founded organization, Maine GIS Education Partners, to bring Geographic Information Systems to Maine classrooms. GIS is a proven method to help students gain twenty-first century skills and advance their knowledge of geographic science.
Continue reading “Geographic Information Systems in classrooms”
The Maine Department of Education Morale Team recently created two venues designed to send a child to camp this summer. The first fundraising event was the “Pick a Stick” game where employees selected a Popsicle stick bearing a dollar amount which the employee then donated in the hopes of winning a jackpot. The winner of that game kindly donated the jackpot winnings back to the cause.
The Department is reminding school administrators to review student truancy data after the last day of school, but no later than June 30. Superintendents are required to validate and certify truancy data at the end of the current school year.
On April 26, 2016 the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSEP) issued a “Dear Colleague” letter regarding the special education rights and responsibilities surrounding children residing in nursing homes. Education administrators are urged to review the contents of this letter and take steps to ensure that their policies and practices are consistent with the requirements and best practices described in it.
Continue reading “OSEP memo regarding children residing in nursing homes”
Summer vacation is a welcome break from the daily school routine for children and parents alike, but the summer months can be a significant interruption to students’ learning if young minds are not kept active while school is out of session. Summer learning loss is a well-documented phenomenon, particularly with respect to reading achievement. Students can lose up to three months of reading progress during the summer. When all of the summers in a child’s PK-8 school career are combined, this can result in 1-2 years of lost reading progress.
A nationally recognized speaker applauded Maine last week for taking a proactive approach when it comes to suicide prevention. You can read more about the State’s strategic plan in action here. Featured at the conference were two sessions focused on school strategies and supports.
Continue reading “Beyond The Basics in Suicide Prevention Conference”
Maine DOE Newsroom 