You are invited to attend the 2013 Comprehensive School Health Education Spring Conference, Plugging Health Education into the Digital World, May 14, from 7:45 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Thomas College in Waterville.
Continue reading “Join the Comprehensive School Health Education conference”
WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Youth Preparedness Council provides an opportunity for young leaders to serve as a member of a distinguished national council; to complete a youth preparedness project for their choosing; to learn about youth disaster preparedness from the leadership at FEMA and other national organizations dedicated to youth preparedness; Continue reading “FEMA seeks young applicants for preparedness council”
The Maine School Garden Network (MSGN)—serving schools of all grade levels—has hired its first ever coordinator, Suzanne Balbo, thanks to a USDA Specialty Crop Grant. The USDA grant also will allow the network to promote school gardens, update the website, disseminate information, provide educator trainings and workshops, attend conferences and events, create connections between schools and local farms, and create new school garden sites.
Continue reading “Maine School Garden Network hires coordinator”
The Maine Department of Education is accepting recommendations for the 2013 Maine Educator Talent Pool through April 30, 2013.
Continue reading “2013 Educator Talent Pool recommendations deadline coming up”
The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium shared the following news release March 28.
Due to the overwhelming demand for access to the Smarter Balanced Volunteer Pilot assessment from principals, teachers, parents and the public, the Executive Committee has decided to release a more complete and more broadly available “practice test” in lieu of the Volunteer Pilot assessment. As will be stressed in messaging to schools and districts, the change from a Volunteer Pilot to Practice Test does not impact current testing in support of the Scientific Pilot; all schools signed up for the Scientific Pilot are still expected to test as scheduled.
Continue reading “Smarter Balanced practice test more broadly available”
The 31 states that have banded together to create a new, computer-based assessment system for English language learners are getting their first glimpses at the new English-language proficiency exam being developed to measure the language demands of the Common Core State Standards. Prototypes will be available to the public in the summer.
Continue reading “Preview new English language proficiency test”
The Maine Legislature’s Education Committee held a public hearing March 25 on legislation that clarifies the standard to be applied by superintendents when considering the transfer of a student from one school administrative unit to another by incorporating the standard set forth in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, section 2, which is that a student must be provided an opportunity to receive the benefits of a free public education.
Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen delivered the following testimony opposing LD 530, An Act to Apply the Standard of Best Educational Interest to Superintendent Agreements for Transfer Students. Continue reading “Bowen testimony in opposition to apply standard of best interest to superintendent agreements”
The Maine Legislature’s Education Committee held a public hearing March 25 on legislation that gives a local school committee of an alternative organizational structure the authority to approve student transfer requests.
Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen delivered the following testimony opposing LD 880, An Act to Change the Process for Student Transfers from an Alternative Organizational Structure. Continue reading “Bowen testimony in opposition to giving AOS’s authority to approve student transfers”
The Maine Legislature’s Education Committee held a public hearing March 25 on legislation that provides that, among other provisions, if the commissioner of education allows a student transfer that was not approved by the superintendents, the commissioner is required to provide a written description of the basis of the commissioner’s determination that the transfer is in the best interest of the student.
Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen delivered the following testimony opposing LD 791, An Act to Increase Transparency and Improve Equity in Appeals to Superintendents’ Agreements. Continue reading “Bowen testimony in opposition to increase transparency to superintendents’ agreements”
There wasn’t time to answer all the questions at the Governor’s Conference on Education: Putting Students First at Cony High School on March 22. So we’ve assembled them here and will be posting more questions and answers over the coming days.
Continue reading “Questions, answers and discussion from the Governor’s Education Conference”
