Transition to Kindergarten Planning and Mini-Grant Opportunity

Transitioning into kindergarten is a very exciting but often overwhelming time for young learners and their families. Building strong transition plans that include community partnerships enables schools and educators to be ready to meet children and families where they are in many aspects of this transition period. The opportunity described below will focus on working with school administrative units (SAUs) and community partners to build kindergarten transition teams and plans. Participants will engage in a technical assistance program that guides the strengthening of community partnerships, equitable practices for families, and a universal understanding of what it means to be ready for children and families to succeed in kindergarten. The goal of implementing kindergarten transition plans is to increase family engagement, encourage school attendance, and build strong partnerships to support kindergarten transitions for children, families, and school communities.

The Early Learning Team in the Office of Teaching and Learning at the Maine Department of Education (DOE), together with the Office of Child and Family Services at the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, is pleased to extend this mini-grant opportunity to build high-quality transition to kindergarten teams and plans. This project will require SAUs to partner with their community early care and education providers. We encourage all providers who may be interested to reach to their local school administrative units to express interest in being part of their SAU’s (or school’s) transition team. This opportunity is funded by Maine’s Preschool Development Grant (PDG).

Participants will attend monthly technical assistance meetings and take advantage of focused individual sessions as needed. Participants will work to form a transition team for their SAU and will build out a year-long transition plan to support children and families before, during, and after the transition to kindergarten. Once the transition plans are finalized in February 2025, participants will be eligible for mini-grants to support the implementation of the plans leading up to and continuing into the 2025-2026 school year. To complete the series, there will also be follow-up technical assistance (TA) sessions, one in September 2025 and one in October 2025.

We invite all interested representatives from SAUs and community early care and education providers to join us for an informational and Q&A session to learn more about this opportunity on Wednesday, September 25, 2024, from 4:30-5:00 p.m., using the following session link:

Join Zoom Meeting here
Meeting ID: 830 9860 1555

Participants interested in the opportunity will complete a registration form. The registration form requires identification of preliminary team members (at a minimum, representation of one SAU or school leader, one school educator/staff member, and one community early childhood provider) and assurances for building community partnerships and engaging in the technical assistance meetings. If you need assistance in locating early care and education providers in your area, visit www.childcarechoices.me. The registration form should be completed by a representative of the SAU. The form will be open through October 25, 2024.

Initial TA meetings will be held on October 29, 2024, from 4:00-5:00 p.m., November 19, 2024, from 3:30 – 4:30 p.m., and December 17, 2024, from 3:30 -4:30 p.m. We will work together to schedule the remainder of the meetings at a mutually agreed-upon time and date.

Please reach out to Marcy Whitcomb, Public Pre-K Consultant with the Early Learning Team at the Maine DOE, at marcy.r.whitcomb@maine.gov , with any questions and for more information.

Webinar: Special Education Reports EF-S-05 Parts 1 and 2

The Maine Department of Education (DOE) Data Team has added a webinar to the fall reporting webinar series. The EF-S-05 is integrated into the October 1 Enrollment and Staff Certification reports. Special Education Directors are required to certify the EF-S-05 Part 1 (special education student count) and EF-S-05 Part 2 (special education staff FTE) reports before superintendents can certify overall October 1 Enrollment and Staff Certification reports.

Please join the Maine DOE Data Team for an overview of these reports on Thursday, September 26^th at 12pm – Register Here

For questions regarding Maine DOE data webinars, please contact Alexandra.Cookson@maine.gov, or call 207-446-3897

Fall Data Reports Open Soon: October 1 Enrollment, Dropout, Quarterly Reports, and Staff Certification

The Maine Department of Education’s (DOE) fall data reports will be opening soon. All data reports require review, validation, and/or certification by superintendents.

Fall Data Reports Opening:

EPS October 1 Student Enrollment (including EF-S-05 Part1) – Opens 10/1, Certification Opens 10/16, Due 10/30
Dropout – Opens 10/2, Due 10/15
Bullying – Opens 10/1, Due 10/15
Behavior – Opens 10/1, Due 10/15
Daily Attendance – Opens 10/1, Due 10/15
Truancy – Opens 10/1, Due 10/15
Staff Certification (EF-S-05 Part2) – Currently Open, Due 10/30

The Maine DOE MEDMS Support webpage provides guidance, instructions, and recorded webinars about these reports. Upcoming webinar registrations can also be found on the Maine DOE Event Calendar by filtering the host to “Data.”

For questions about these reports, please contact MEDMS.Support@maine.gov or call 207-624-6896

For training in navigating state reporting resources and systems, please submit a State Reporting System Training request, or call 207-446-3897

Celebrating Adult Education Family Literacy Week

Governor Mills has proclaimed September 16 – 20 as Adult Education and Family Literacy Week! Last year, Maine’s Adult Education programs helped over 12,900 students train for a career, earn their high school credentials, prepare for college, and learn English. Located statewide, over 65 adult education programs are part of the public education system and assist adult learners with their next educational and career steps.

Read more about the impact of Maine’s adult education programs:

Workforce

Maine Adult Education is helping fill the gaps in the workforce with collaborative and creative efforts with community partners and employers. From renewable energy and healthcare to commercial driving, adult education programs offer affordable workforce training that lead to certifications and credentials. Last year, Maine’s adult education programs awarded 2,600 certifications in high-demand industries. Read about Portland Adult Education’s Renewable Energy Program

English Language Acquisition

Maine’s adult education programs worked with over 6,000 multilingual learners last year, helping them strengthen their English skills, assisting them with training for jobs and college, and helping them prepare for US citizenship. Check out South Portland Adult Education’s Customer Service English Class

HiSET- Maine’s High School Equivalency Test

Did you know almost 1,000 Maine adults earned their high school credentials through Maine adult education last year? Maine adults can earn their high school equivalency (HiSET®) or high school diploma for free through adult education. Search the Maine Adult Education Class Search, or look for Adult education programs near you.

Maine College Career Access (MCCA)

Did you know over 1,700 adults accessed Maine’s adult education programs to advance their career and college ready skills through the Maine College and Career Access program? Adult education can help adults get ready for college and career through advising, career exploration, college navigation, academic and digital skill building, and more. Learn about Lewiston’s Maine College Career Access Program.

To learn more about Adult Education programs in Maine, visit the Maine Department of Education website, or contact an Adult education program near you.

Integrating Literacy through the Dispositions with Cris Tovani

The Interdisciplinary Instruction team from the Maine Department of Education’s Office of Teaching and Learning is excited to bring educator and author Cris Tovani to Maine on October 7th for an all-day workshop that explores ways to engage, excite, and “hook” reluctant learners in building their literacy skills and mastery.

Through the lens of student dispositions, Tovani has discovered ways around the various “masks” some students wear and created opportunities for those students to engage with their own learning in vibrant and authentic ways.

At the conclusion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

describe what full engagement looks like and discuss the importance of engagement in literacy competence,
provide reasons for students to read, write, and discuss,
model for students how to monitor and repair meaning when reading complex text, and
state how these discrete tasks, methods, and skills build literacy proficiency.

The workshop will run from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM at Camp Chamberlain in Augusta, Maine, and is free to all Maine educators. Limited in-person spots are available and will be filled as people sign up. Participants can also participate virtually through Zoom, and the workshop will be recorded and shared with educators. Contact hours are available to participants.

To register for this event, please use this registration link.

If you have any questions about this workshop, please contact Kathy Bertini at Kathy.Bertini@maine.gov or Heather Martin at Heather.Martin@maine.gov

This workshop is one of four (4) presented by the Interdisciplinary Team on the topic of Integrating Literacy through Applied Learning. All events are available in person and virtually.

November 8, 2024, 9 AM – 3 PM: “Integrating Literacy through Mapmaking” with David Sobel at The Steele House, 639 Main St., Rockland. Use this registration link to spend the day learning with David Sobel.

December 12, 2024, 8:00 AM—12:00 PM: “Integrating Literacy through Background Knowledge” with Josie Cameron. Wells Conference Center, 169 Hilltop Road, Orono Use this registration link to spend the day learning with Josie Cameron

January 15, 2025, 8 am – 12 noon: “Integrating Literacy through Applied Science with Katie Coppens at the Curtis Memorial Library, 23 Pleasant St., Brunswick. Use this registration link to spend the day learning with Katie Coppens

Integrating Literacy through Applied Learning Workshops

The Maine Department of Education (DOE) Interdisciplinary Instruction Team in the Office of Teaching and Learning is pleased to announce a series of four (4) upcoming workshops on Integrating Literacy through Applied Learning. Registration is free of charge to all Maine educators. Contact hours are available, and all workshops are offered both in person (space is limited) and virtually. Participants will receive additional guidance through monthly Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) hosted by the Maine Department of Education to support the application of new learning in the classroom. All workshops and follow-up sessions will be recorded and posted for future viewing. Interested participants may register using the links in the descriptions.

These workshops provide teachers with both a theoretical understanding of emerging research on Whole Child and literacy instruction and practical strategies to apply in their classrooms. By recognizing literacy as a cross-disciplinary skill, the sessions help educators integrate foundational literacy elements (phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension) into their teaching. This holistic approach aims to enhance students’ literacy skills and boost their confidence in learning across all subjects.

October 7, 2024: “Integrating Literacy through the Dispositions” with Cris Tovani

Monday, 9 am – 4 pm, Camp Chamberlain, 23 Blue Star Ave., Augusta

Use this registration link to spend the day learning with Cris Tovani.

“Even the best reading strategy in the world won’t work if the students are disengaged.” Join educator and author Cris Tovani (Why Do I Have to Read This?) for an all-day workshop to explore ways to engage and excite reluctant readers and learners. Participants in this workshop will gain both insight and practical tools to describe what full engagement looks like, plan so that students are engaged in the work, provide reasons for students to read, write, and discuss, and model how to monitor and repair meaning when reading complex text to promote literacy.

November 8, 2024: “Integrating Literacy through Mapmaking” with David Sobel

Friday, 9 am – 3 pm, The Steele House, 639 Main St., Rockland

Use this registration link to spend the day learning with David Sobel.

“In the beginning, children’s maps represent their experiences of beauty, secrecy, adventure, and comfort. With these effective endeavors as a foundation, I then gradually start to focus on scale, location, direction, and geographic relationships.” Analogous to the foundational skills of reading and writing, mapmaking is a deeply human way for a child to order and make meaning from their world and strengthen literacy. Join acclaimed educator and author David Sobel (Mapmaking with Children) for this hands-on workshop exploring maps and cognitive processes.

December 12, 2024: “Integrating Literacy through Background Knowledge” with Josie Cameron

Thursday, 8 am – 12 noon, Wells Conference Center, 169 Hilltop Road, Orono, ME 04469

Use this registration link to spend the day learning with Josie Cameron.

“Students often tell me they have NO IDEA what to write about! When we dig into place-based writing, they’re surprised to find story ideas hidden right in front of their eyes!” Background knowledge, the information and wisdom acquired through our own lived experiences, has in the past been overlooked. However, as research reveals more about the ways in which students learn, it is gaining recognition as a fundamental element in students’ comprehension and ability to make meaning from text – foundational skills to literacy. Join Josie Cameron, Maine author and educator (Not All Heroes, Maybe a Mermaid) as we explore the importance of background knowledge, and how to harness it for learning!

January 15, 2025: “Integrating Literacy through Applied Science with Katie Coppens

Wednesday, 8 am – 12 noon, Curtis Memorial Library, 23 Pleasant St., Brunswick

Use this registration link to spend the day learning with Katie Coppens.

“Integrating science and literacy engages students while enhancing their scientific knowledge and improving their writing skills! Not only that, but it’s fun and a great way to see students’ interests through built in voice and choice!” Learn strategies on integrating science and literacy from Maine teacher and author Katie Coppens (The Acadia Files, What do Black Holes Eat for Dinner?, Geometry is Easy as Pie). Focus will be on strategies to integrate fiction and nonfiction reading and writing in science, thereby gaining proficiency in literacy, with an emphasis on differentiation. Models and rubrics will be provided. Everyone will leave with ideas for implementation in their own classroom.

If you have any questions about this workshop, please contact Kathy Bertini at Kathy.Bertini@maine.gov or Heather Martin at Heather.Martin@maine.gov

Participants are welcome to join for one, all four, or whatever fits their schedule!

Selection of Fall & Winter Professional Learning Opportunities for Early Learning & Childcare Educators

The Maine Department of Education Office of Teaching and Learning, Early Learning Team, along with our partners at Maine’s Office of Child and Family Services and Maine Resilience Building Network (MRBN), are hosting several professional learning opportunities for childcare and public-school educators working with children this fall and winter. These opportunities are funded through Maine’s Preschool Development Renewal Grant.

Supporting Children, Families, and Communities to Thrive: Promoting Positive Childhood Experiences and Resilience – a series of free virtual (via ZOOM) professional development sessions for PK-3 public-school educators to learn about how childhood experiences impact children’s development, including strategies for supporting positive experiences, in addition to tools for educators in addressing self-resilience.
Empowering Early Childhood Educators to Foster Resilience and Positive Childhood Experiences: A Train the Trainer Opportunity—this program is designed to equip early childhood educators with the tools, knowledge, and confidence to promote Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs) and resilience in your early care and education environment by facilitating workshops on these topics.

Find more information on each opportunity below.

Supporting Children, Families, and Communities to Thrive: Promoting Positive Childhood Experiences and Resilience

The Maine Resilience Building Network will be hosting a series of free virtual (via ZOOM) professional development sessions in partnership with Maine DOE and Maine’s Office of Child and Family Services throughout the fall and winter. These sessions will focus on:

how adverse and positive childhood experiences impact children’s development,
ideas for how to support a stronger focus on positive experiences and for building resilience for young children, and
strategies for how educators can address compassion fatigue and build their own resilience.

Descriptions of all 3 available offerings can be found here. Two contact hours are available for each session. Registration is required and links to each session are provided within the table below. There is no cost to attend sessions.

Date/Time	Program and Registration Link
Monday, September 9, 9-11 am	The Impact of Experience: How Adverse Childhood Experiences and Positive Childhood Experiences Impact Healthy Child Development (Part I) https://maineresilience.org/event-5813524
Monday, September 16, 9-11 am	A Framework for Implementing Positive Childhood Experiences to Support Healthy Child Development (Part II) https://maineresilience.org/event-5813527
Monday, September 23, 9-11 am	Addressing Compassion Fatigue and Resilience Strategies in Educators and Caregivers https://maineresilience.org/event-5813530
Tuesday, October 15, 6-8 pm	The Impact of Experience: How Adverse Childhood Experiences and Positive Childhood Experiences Impact Healthy Child Development (Part I) https://maineresilience.org/event-5813531
Tuesday, October 22, 6-8 pm	A Framework for Implementing Positive Childhood Experiences to Support Healthy Child Development (Part II) https://maineresilience.org/event-5813534
Tuesday, October 29, 6-8 pm	Addressing Compassion Fatigue and Resilience Strategies in Educators and Caregivers https://maineresilience.org/event-5813538
Wednesday, November 6, 3-5 pm	The Impact of Experience: How Adverse Childhood Experiences and Positive Childhood Experiences Impact Healthy Child Development (Part I) https://maineresilience.org/event-5813542
Wednesday, November 13, 3-5 pm	A Framework for Implementing Positive Childhood Experiences to Support Healthy Child Development (Part II) https://maineresilience.org/event-5813544
Wednesday, November 20, 3-5 pm	Addressing Compassion Fatigue and Resilience Strategies in Educators and Caregivers https://maineresilience.org/event-5813556
Thursday, January 9, 3-5 pm	The Impact of Experience: How Adverse Childhood Experiences and Positive Childhood Experiences Impact Healthy Child Development (Part I) https://maineresilience.org/event-5813557
Thursday, January 16, 3-5 pm	A Framework for Implementing Positive Childhood Experiences to Support Healthy Child Development (Part II) https://maineresilience.org/event-5813559
Thursday, January 23, 3-5 pm	Addressing Compassion Fatigue and Resilience Strategies in Educators and Caregivers https://maineresilience.org/event-5813561

Additional questions can be directed to the Maine Department of Education’s Early Childhood Specialist, nicole.madore@maine.gov.

Empowering Early Childhood Educators to Foster Resilience and Positive Childhood Experiences: A Train the Trainer Opportunity

The train-the-trainer program is designed to equip early childhood educators with the tools, knowledge, and confidence to promote Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs) and resilience in your early care and education environment. This comprehensive program will empower you to lead training sessions within your own community, ensuring that more children and families across Maine benefit from these vital strategies.

Target Audience

This program is ideal for:

Early childhood educators
Pre-K providers
Public school professionals (serving children ages Pre-K to Grade 3)
Any stakeholders involved in supporting children ages 0-8 across Maine

Prerequisite

Participants should have experience in facilitating professional development sessions and a strong commitment to promoting PCEs and resilience.

Program Objectives

Understand the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and PCEs on healthy child development.
Learn evidence-based strategies to foster resilience in children, families, and communities.
Master the art of delivering effective training sessions to diverse audiences, including educators, caregivers, and community stakeholders.
Facilitate engaging discussions and activities that promote PCEs.
Provide ongoing support and resources to educators and caregivers in your community.

Program Content

Participants will:

Build an understanding of the impact of experience by:
- Exploring the effects of ACEs on early brain development and lifelong well-being.
- Discovering the latest research on PCEs and their role in fostering positive mental health in adulthood.
Strengthen the ability to foster Positive Childhood Experiences by:
- Learning practical strategies to promote PCEs through the Positive Resilience Development framework.
- Engaging in cognitive reframing techniques focused on protective factors and strengths.
- Applying the Positive Resilience Development framework to real-life scenarios through group activities and case studies.
Achieve certification as a PCE and resilience trainer:
- This certification will document your expertise and readiness to deliver impactful training sessions.

Program Duration

4 weeks with one virtual session per week (each session is approximately 2 hours).

Timeline and Session Topics

10/23 Week 1: Introduction and Overview
10/30 Week 2: Understanding the Impact of Experience (Part I)
11/6 Week 3: Implementing Positive Childhood Experiences (Part II)
11/13 Week 4: Application and Practice Session / Wrap-up and Certification

Total Contact Hours – 12 (8 hours for TTT Program + 4 hours prerequisite training)

Register today to transform your training approach and help children, families, and communities thrive across Maine.

For questions, please email MRBN’s Executive Director, Delvina Miremadi-Baldino at delvina@maineresilience.org

Cultivating Collaborative Relationships: Technical Assistance and Mini-Grant Opportunity for Early Care and Education Communities – Info Session 9/19

With the ever-growing understanding of and commitment to serving the whole child and family, the need for relationship building among early care and education providers within communities is even more important. When early care and education providers, such as child care, Head Start, schools, YMCAs, and libraries, get to know the work each does to support children and families during the early years, partnerships can emerge to achieve shared, positive outcomes.

These partnerships can vary in their design and in their intended purposes, depending on the context and needs of the community. Examples of early care and education community partnerships include providing public pre-k, supporting the transition of special education responsibilities for 3–5-year-olds to the public schools, strengthening kindergarten transitions and registration, and offering shared professional development among educators. But how do you start building relationships among community partners? Who do you contact? What are possible partnership opportunities in your community? The Maine Department of Education’s Pathways to Partnership series is designed to help communities answer these questions and build relationships among early care and education providers to benefit young children and their families.

Recognizing that every community’s needs are different, and each early care and education provider brings a variety of important perspectives to the work, the Early learning team is seeking communities open to exploring the benefits of relationship building and community partnerships. Community teams will need to have at least one leadership representative from a school administrative unit (SAU) or school (e.g., principal, assistant principal, superintendent, curriculum coordinator, etc.) as well as at least one licensed community-based provider (e.g., family childcare, center-based care, Head Start, YMCA, etc.) willing to attend a 4-part series to learn about the various partnerships that occur in Maine. Although only these two members are required, teams are strongly encouraged to have broader representation from their early care and education community.

The series will include facilitated and focused planning time for team members. Upon completion of the series, a mini-grant opportunity will be available for communities to secure additional facilitated support to continue the work started during the series. Each 90-minute session in the series will be held over zoom on the following dates. The exact time will be determined after registration information has been reviewed.:

Thursday, October 17^th
Thursday, November 7th
Thursday, December 5th
Thursday, January 16th

To register for the series, follow this link to the application.

For further questions, please reach out to Michelle Belanger, Pre-K partnership Specialist at Michelle.belanger@maine.gov

Seeking Educators to Pilot MOOSE Modules and Educator Guides; Info Session 9/18/24

Do you want to explore and implement innovative instructional materials this fall? Are you interested in expanding your impact outside your classroom/school? Would you like support in incorporating Wabanaki Studies into your curriculum? The Maine Department of Education (DOE) is currently seeking educators to pilot MOOSE Modules and Educator Resources and would love to have your class participate!

Maine’s Online Open-Source Education (MOOSE) platform provides free, interdisciplinary, project-based learning materials created by Maine teachers for Maine PreK-12 students. Feedback on the modules themselves and their usability is vitally important as we constantly improve existing modules and apply the feedback to new creations. In addition to the modules themselves, extensive Wabanaki Studies Educator Resources have been developed and are ready to be piloted for feedback. Educators may apply to pilot any combination of modules and/or educator guides in their classroom.

We are looking for Maine educators interested in using these materials in their classroom with five (5) or more students and providing feedback about the experience. You get to decide the module(s)/guide(s) you want to pilot based on what works best for you and your students. You can choose from over 350 modules, including modules in dedicated learning progressions, such as Wabanaki Studies, and 18 Wabanaki Studies educator guides. Stipends will be provided for up to two modules and/or guides ($500 each) that you have piloted and provided feedback on. All required elements must be completed by January 19, 2025.

If you are interested in applying but still have questions, representatives from Maine DOE will be holding a Q&A session via Zoom on Wednesday, September 18th from 3:30 – 4:30 pm. Registration for the Q&A session can be found here. The session will be recorded and sent to anyone who registers, even if they aren’t able to make it in person. Questions can be submitted ahead of time to be answered in the session. For more information or to submit questions, please contact MOOSE Project Manager Jennifer Page (jennifer.page@maine.gov) and/or Wabanaki Studies Specialist, Brianne Lolar (brianne.lolar@maine.gov).

If you are ready to apply applications can be found here. Applications for the fall session are due by Sunday, September 22nd, 2024.

Maine FFA Advocates in Washington, DC

The Maine FFA state officer team traveled to Washington, DC, for the 2024 State Officer Summit this summer. The Summit is a five-day training event during which hundreds of students representing all 50 states, the US Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico engage in conversations about leadership, agriculture, and advocacy. This experience prepares the state officer team and the Maine FFA Association for a successful year.

While in Washington, D.C., students strengthened their understanding of federal policies related to agriculture, connected with agricultural leaders, and served as delegates for upcoming FFA Committee work. After building their knowledge, the officers met with Senator King and staff from Congresswoman Pingree and Representative Golden’s offices.

Outside of training, students learned more about American history and took advantage of all that the nation’s capital has to offer. Julia Pierce, a 2024-2025 State Officer, shared, “State Officer Summit was a great experience. It provided many opportunities for the officers to work on advocacy in the FFA. Some of the activities we got to take part in included a night tour of all of the Monuments, visiting the Holocaust Museum, and one of our favorites- touring Arlington National Cemetery.”

As the team reflected on their experience, many reiterated the importance of connection to their peers. Julia added, “We had the privilege to talk to officers from all over the US and see how different FFA can be in other places. We were able to make lots of new friendships and learn new skills that we hope to use in the future.”

During the State Summit, two of Maine’s officers were assigned Committee roles as part of the delegate body at this year’s National Convention. One of Maine’s delegates, Lane Carmichael described his experience: “State Summit was an opportunity to expand our horizons as state officers. We were able to step up and realize that although Maine may be smaller than others in membership, we can still have the same impact on National FFA.”

The Maine FFA was able to send all six current state officers to Washington, DC, this year thanks to the generous support of local sponsors, Maine Agriculture In the Classroom, and the National FFA Organization.

The Maine FFA is a student-led organization focused on premier leadership, personal growth, and career success. State Officers represent the Maine FFA throughout the 2024-2025 school year and work closely with local FFA chapters. For more information about the Maine FFA Association, please visit https://www.maine.gov/doe/learning/ffa or contact Emily Doughty, State FFA Liaison, at emily.doughty@maine.gov.