Woodland ELO Program Gives Back to Community and Prepares Students for Future Careers

At Woodland Junior-Senior High School, Extended Learning Opportunities (ELO) Coordinator Heidi Hicks is helping students connect with their community and realize their full potential. Through job shadows, volunteer work, and mentorships, Hicks’ students are simultaneously exploring future career paths and giving back to their local communities.

One of the primary initiatives of Woodland’s ELO program is its teacher Assistant Program in which students interested in a teaching career have the opportunity to serve as a student mentor at the local elementary school. This program allows students to gain experience working with students in a classroom, and Hicks hopes to expand the program in the coming years.

“I am very thankful for the opportunity it has given me, and it has only brightened my future as a teacher,” said one of Hicks’ students when reflecting on her ELO experience. “I really can’t wait to see where it takes me and what my future holds.”

Another one of the program’s success stories is the development of a school and community food pantry. Hicks was inspired to start the food pantry after hearing the story of a student whose family was struggling with food insecurity. Under Hicks’ leadership, the program partnered with The Good Shepherd Food Bank to create the food pantry where many students volunteer to work and give back to their community.

Hicks says the best part of her daily work is building relationships with her students and helping them see the best in themselves. “This work gives me hope,” said Hicks.

Hicks would like to thank the following community partners for their contributions to Woodland’s ELO program: Woodland IGA, Woodland Elementary School Principal Amanda Belanger, and Sarah Cote from Downeast Lakes Land Trust.

Extended Learning Opportunities (ELOs) are hands-on, credit-bearing courses outside of the traditional classroom with an emphasis on community-based career exploration. These opportunities are personalized for students and help them explore options for their professional lives. They help students engage in learning through instruction, assignments, and experiential learning. The Maine Department of Education (DOE), along with state-wide partner Jobs for Maine Graduates (JMG), have made a concerted effort to provide working models, support, and funding opportunities for Maine schools to set up ELO programs within their school communities. To learn more about Maine’s initiatives with extended learning opportunities, visit: https://www.maine.gov/doe/index.php/learning/elo or reach out to Maine DOE ELO Coordinator Rick Wilson at rick.wilson@maine.gov.

Media Release: Maine DOE Experiences a 40 Percent Increase in Educator Certification Applications

Maine DOE’s Certification Team Processed 40 Percent More Initial and Renewal Certification Applications Over the Summer Compared to Last Year

The Maine Department of Education experienced a 40 percent increase this summer in the number of initial and renewal educator certification applications processed compared to last year. The Maine DOE’s certification team processed more than 11,000 certification applications between June and August.

“While educator shortages persist across our state, this increase is encouraging and the Maine DOE is committed to doing everything we can to build and support the education workforce in our state. This is the most important work of our society and we want people to know that Maine is a state that respects, supports, and empowers our educators. If you want to become an educator in Maine, we want to make sure you have a pathway into the profession and that you are supported in the classroom,” said Maine Education Commissioner Pender Makin.

Maine DOE Educator Recruitment and Retention Efforts and Initiatives:

Developing, supporting, and sustaining a robust educator workforce is one of the Maine DOE’s six strategic priorities.
Research demonstrates that feeling supported and respected is key to educator recruitment and retention. Maine stands out as a state that respects educators as professionals and the Maine DOE empowers teachers to take risks and be innovative.
One of the Mills administration’s first actions was to raise minimum teacher salaries to $40,000.
Last year, The Maine DOE released Teach Maine, a comprehensive roadmap to develop, support, and sustain a robust educator workforce in the state. Teach Maine is organized around four key themes: incentivize recruitment and retention efforts; expand and diversify educator workforce efforts; support educator development, growth, and leadership; and elevate educators and the education profession. The report is the result of contributions by education stakeholders throughout Maine, who provided feedback via multiple channels, including regional Think Tanks, focus groups, surveys, organizational meetings, and informal conversations. Additionally, the Department of Education convened an Educator Talent Committee, a core group of internal and external stakeholders, to share their experiences, look at research and trends, and to make recommendations on how to address Maine’s educator shortage.
Last month, the Mills administration announced a new initiative to help Maine schools recruit, train, and retain educators through pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs. Under the initiative, schools and other education and community-related organizations can apply for competitive funding, with awards of up to $250,000 to begin local educator pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs to help address Maine’s educator workforce shortage. Read more.
The Maine DOE partners with Live + Work in Maine to encourage people to come live and teach in Maine. Through the partnership, all school administrative units (SAUs) have free access to Live + Work’s highly trafficked job board to recruit educators. The partnership has expanded to include a national advertising effort to Live and Teach in Maine and educator-specific content on Live + Work’s website.
The Maine DOE invested in the BARR (Building Assets, Reducing Risk Model) for Maine schools. Research has shown that the BARR model results in increased job satisfaction for teachers and higher levels of collaboration. 71 new Maine schools are implementing the BARR model this school year.
The Maine DOE’s Educator Summit brought together 600 educators this summer for 4 days of professional learning opportunities with more than 100 workshops. The DOE’s certification and educator excellence teams were on site to support educators and prospective educators, including a job fair on the final day.
The Maine DOE also encourages educator leadership by creating opportunities for peer-to-peer professional learning and by establishing statewide teacher cohorts around such areas of interest/expertise as: digital learning/Computer Science, interdisciplinary and project-based learning, innovation and design thinking, BARR schools, literacy, special education, and more. The Maine DOE offers robust professional learning opportunities throughout the year.
Maine DOE staff visited 7 summer camps in 2022 and 10 summer camps this summer to speak with counselors about how the skills they develop as camp counselors can lead to opportunities and pathways into the teaching profession.
Maine DOE staff serve on the advisory board for the University of Maine System Teacher Residency. The University of Maine System Collaborative received funding through a Congressional Directed Spending earmark supported by Senators King and Collins. The Maine Teacher Residency Program offers paid internships for new teachers and supports student teaching candidates, emergency, and conditionally certified teachers and connects them with teacher education programs to strengthen their preparation and retention.
The Maine DOE is working with the Region 1 Comprehensive Center to build state and local staff capacity to collect, analyze, and use educator supply-and-demand data in order to better inform educator recruitment and support efforts. A pilot program will get underway beginning in December.
Prospective educators can reach out to the Maine DOE’s educator excellence and certification teams to receive personal support from DOE staff to create their roadmap to becoming a certified teacher in Maine.
Through Maine Jobs and Recovery Plan (MJRP) funds, the DOE supported UNE’s Future Teachers of Maine Summer Institute allowing dozens of high school students who have shown an interest in the teaching profession an opportunity to live on campus for a week. Students learn from and with students currently in UNE’s educator preparation program during the weeklong deep dive into the teaching profession and the steps it takes to get into the classroom.
Through an AmeriCorps Planning Grant, two York County high schools worked with the Maine DOE to place AmeriCorps members with teachers of first-year students. Those members will not only support students as they navigate high school but will also learn from master teachers and support Maine’s pipeline into the teaching profession.
The CDS/AmeriCorps First 4 Partnership is currently looking to recruit, train and empower 17 AmeriCorps members to serve and support children with disabilities with building social emotional skills and school readiness children enrolled in CDS preschools across the state.  The investment in members will not only serve to ensure positive preschool experiences and improve child outcomes for those children, this opportunity will also provide important, dynamic training, 1:1 mentoring and experience for each volunteer to utilize toward certification in the educational field. CDS is committed to building a robust early education workforce. As part of this initiative CDS will support teacher or educational technician licensure for future employment in Maine schools.
Maine DOE’s Special Educator Engagement Development & Supports (SEEDS) program provides training and professional learning opportunities to Ed Techs in special education classrooms to support their professional growth and opportunities to achieve their special education teacher certification.
The Maine DOE supported passage of LD 753, which Governor Mills signed into law. The bill will allow retired teachers and educational technicians to renew their certification and help fill educator shortages by re-entering the classroom.
The Maine DOE worked with US Department of Education to name teacher shortage areas for Maine for SY 23-24. Eligible teachers in those certification areas qualify for enhanced federal student loan forgiveness.
The Maine DOE was awarded a $9 million 5-year grant from the US DOE to recruit, respecialize and retain school social workers, school counselors, and school psychologists to work within schools.
The Maine DOE is working with CTE schools to expand their education preparation programs beyond Early Childhood Education.
The Maine DOE continues to support the EMCC Learning Facilitators program, which offers an alternative, skills-based pathway toward Education Technician III certification. Program participants enroll in a “boot camp” to complete initial coursework and then the rest of their experience is directly in schools under the guidance of EMCC staff and local school mentors. The Maine DOE supported passage of LD 1366, which opens the door to other institutions of higher education replicating the success of EMCC’s program.

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Seeking Educators to Pilot MOOSE Modules; Info Session 9/21/23

Do you want to explore and implement innovative curriculum this fall? Are you interested in expanding your impact outside your classroom/school? The Maine Department of Education (DOE) is currently looking for educators to pilot MOOSE modules and would love to have your class participate!

Now in its fourth year, Maine’s Online Opportunities for Sustained Education (MOOSE) platform continues to grow. Last year, we added additional PreK-12 Learning Progressions to our already robust bank of MOOSE modules – created by Maine teachers for Maine students. These modules center on interdisciplinary, project-based learning experiences that are accessible, inclusive, and available for free online.

Feedback on the modules themselves and their usability is vitally important as we are constantly improving existing modules and applying lessons learned to new creations. We are looking for Maine educators interested in using an existing MOOSE module in their classroom with five (5) or more students and providing feedback about the experience. You get to decide the module(s) you want to pilot based on what works best for you and your students. Stipends will be provided for up to two modules ($500 each) that you have piloted and provided feedback on. All required elements must be completed by January 12^th, 2024.

If you are interested in applying but still have questions, the MOOSE team will be holding a Q&A session via Zoom on Thursday, September 21st, 2023 from 4:30-5:30 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, please contact Project Manager Jennifer Page (jennifer.page@maine.gov).

If you are ready to apply applications can be found here. Applications for the fall session are due by Sunday, October 8th, 2023.

Join the Maine Association for Improving Literacy (MAIL)

The Cambridge Dictionary simply defines literacy as the ability to read and write. The National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) defines literacy as the ability to use printed and written information to function in society, to achieve one’s goals, and to develop one’s knowledge and potential. The International Literacy Association defines literacy as the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, compute, and communicate using visual, audible, and digital materials across disciplines and in any context. Over time, literacy has been applied to a wide range of activities and appears as computer literacy, math literacy, or dietary literacy; in such contexts, it refers to basic knowledge rather than to anything specific to reading and writing. No matter the definition, we know that high-quality access to literacy instruction is a key component of equity of access to student success and access to the world.

In the fall of 2022, the Maine Department of Education brought together the first group of individuals who were interested in the inaugural network called the Maine Association for Improving Literacy. More than 100 educators came together to discuss literacy education across the State. Through monthly meetings, text studies, and regular email communication educators started the process of connecting a collaborating to improve literacy education across the state.

The mission of this network is to support children as they learn to read and love reading, address the diverse literacy needs of all Maine students, and discover a common ground of a supportive literacy community across the state. We welcome all people with a passion to learn and take action to increase literacy access to every person in the state. We encourage the participation of classroom teachers, administrators, special services educators, school support staff, educational specialists, and all of you who have a passion for literacy.

If you are interested in joining the MAIL network to attend monthly meetings, join text and article studies, or to simply be on the MAIL email list please consider completing the 2023-2024 membership form on the link below:

If you have additional questions about the MAIL network, please do not hesitate to contact Dee Saucier, Inclusive Education Literacy Specialist and Dyslexia Coordinator, (danielle.m.saucier@maine.gov).

A Day With Maine Teacher of the Year Finalist Joshua Chard’s Class

“We take care of everybody”

“Everyone is valued”

“People are kind”

Those are some of the things that Mr. Joshua Chard’s third-grade students want people to know about their school.

The Chardlings, as they’re affectionately called, go to school at East End Community School in Portland. East End is a diverse and welcoming school that sits on a hill overlooking the city and the water. Beyond extraordinary teachers, the school has its own garden with an outdoor classroom, a closet where students can get free clothes and other supplies, and a deep connection to the neighborhood and families as a community school.

Mr. Chard is one of four finalists for 2024 Maine Teacher of the Year and the 2023 Cumberland County Teacher of the Year. He was nominated by his principal and assistant principal. Colleagues say he builds relationships with every student, meets every student where they’re at, and finds joy in the uniqueness of each human.

It’s easy to see why people say that about him. On a recent morning visiting Mr. Chard’s class, he and his Chardlings were happily seated on a colorful carpet, passing around a stuffed bear and telling their visitors what’s great about their school.

Next, it was math time. With the learning target written on the board, Mr. Chard asked the class who could tell him the math learning target for the day. He called on people one by one until the entire class said in unison, “Let’s choose a scale for our bar graph!” The students were given a scenario to measure the different shapes found on a piece of paper in bar graph form. Instead of working alone, they joined groups to discuss the problem and give their reasoning for what scale they should use to measure the shapes. Today was not about getting the right answer but working through the problem together and defending their reasoning.

Later in the day, and after a snack, it was time for science. Mr. Chard and the students returned to their carpet to learn about Wabanaki history and rivers, using the Columbia River to compare to Maine’s Presumpscot River. Mr. Chard asked what the students had learned the day before, with almost every hand going up with excitement. The students talked about what they knew about the Wabanaki, the immigrants who arrived, and 20 million years since the Columbia River was first formed. But if we know the Columbia is 20 million years old, then how old would that make the Presumpscot? After lots of class discussion, the class collectively inferred that the Presumpscot must have been around the same age.

Then it was time for another of Mr. Chard’s “juicy” words—flora. Using cards with images of flora, Mr. Chard asked the class if they could tell us what flora meant. But why just talk about flora when you can experience flora? So, everyone took a card with an image of flora, and outside they all went to roam the perimeter of the school in search of flora that is often found near the banks of the Presumpscot River.

“That’s my flora!”

“I found it!”

“I think this is it!”

The Chardlings were enthusiastically committed to their mission to find their flora.

That’s just a bit of a glimpse into the engaging, project-based, immersive, and rigorous learning on display in Mr. Chard’s class.

When asked why he teaches, Mr. Chard said, “I teach because I stand tall on the shoulders of the teachers who lifted me up and saw my potential even when I couldn’t see it myself. I strive to be the teacher who lifts his students up in the same way, so that those students look back and say, ‘I stand tall on Mr. Chard’s shoulders.’ I can think of no better legacy than that.”

One of Mr. Chard’s fellow teachers talked about his magical formula that combines joy and fun with high expectations and his ability to meet the unique needs of every student. That was on full display on our wonderful day with the Chardlings.

Media Release: Maine Department of Education Announces $1.8 Million Climate Education Professional Development Grant Opportunity for Maine Schools

Grants Will Allow Maine Schools to Partner with Climate and Environmental Community Organizations to Strengthen Climate Education Across the State

The Maine Department of Education (DOE) announced a new climate education professional development grant opportunity today to support the growth of climate education throughout the state, especially in underserved communities. This $1.8 million grant initiative was designed out of LD 1902, which was passed by the legislature in 2022 to establish a pilot program to encourage climate education in Maine public schools.

The pilot grant opportunity allows schools to partner with non-profit community-based organizations that play an integral role in Maine communities. This allows schools to get expert knowledge from organizations that have created, sustained, and grown an incredible framework of outdoor and environmental education opportunities and programs that are tailored to their local region’s assets and needs. These partnerships will support teachers and schools to bring climate education to more of Maine’s students.

“These grants can provide Maine educators and schools with the tools, resources, and partnerships they need to provide students with engaging, hands on climate and environmental education. From the mountains to the coast, Maine has enormous natural resources for students to explore and learn from so they can be effective environmental stewards and leaders,” said Maine Education Commissioner Pender Makin.

Priority will be given to communities historically underserved by climate education, socioeconomically disadvantaged communities, and interdisciplinary, place-based, and project-based learning focused activities. The RFA can be found here, and applications are due on November 3, 2023. A second climate education RFA will be announced early in 2024.

Maine continues to be a leader in outdoor learning and climate education. The Maine DOE’s Rethinking Responsive Education Ventures (RREV) initiative, funded through a $16.9 million federal grant, has supported the expansion of outdoor education “classrooms”, programs, professional learning, partnerships, and spaces across the state. Schools across Maine utilized federal relief funding to expand outdoor learning spaces and programs. Governor Mills’ Maine Outdoor Learning Initiative, which just concluded its second year, has provided thousands of Maine middle and high school students with coastal and inland forestry learning and career exploration opportunities during the summer. The Maine DOE recently hired a Climate Education Specialist to support and expand this work with educators, schools, and community partners across the state. You can learn more about the Maine DOE’s climate and outdoor education work here.

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Maine Department of Education Releases Climate Education Professional Development Grant to Promote Climate Education in Maine Schools

The Maine Department of Education (DOE) is excited to launch a new climate education professional development pilot grant opportunity to support the growth of climate education throughout the state and most especially in underserved communities. This grant initiative was designed out of LD 1902 which passed in the spring of 2022. This grant initiative is designed first and foremost to support teachers and schools. Climate change content and pedagogy can be challenging to approach for many different reasons. It can be a new area for teachers, a subject matter that is challenging to navigate in a school’s community, and an area of education where teachers and schools just don’t know where to get started.

This initiative asks that schools partner with a non-profit community-based organization because these organizations are integral to communities throughout Maine. They have created, sustained, and grown an incredible framework of outdoor and environmental education opportunities and programs that are tailored to their local regions traits and needs. This initiative will expand on their work to form new connections and expand partnerships between community organizations and schools. These partnerships will support teachers and schools to bring climate education to more of Maine’s students.

The RFA can be found here, and applications are due on November 3, 2023.

The RFA grant will be phase 1 of 2 initial phases the Maine DOE plans for this effort. Phase 1 will have an application window from early September to October 20th. Phase 1 professional development programs will be awarded for a term from mid-November through the end of August 2024. Phase 2 will build on the successes and learnings of phase one. Phase 2 will have an application window in the winter of 2024 and be designed for programs leading up to and during the school year of 2024-2025. These phases are designed for a wide variety of applicants and programs that might vary in style, content, age, duration, and breadth or depth.

Applicants should take the time to review the application and ask questions by September 29th (full instructions in the RFA). Just like the program itself, the application can be collaborative with community partners and other local education providers if desired. Applicants that hit priorities one and/or two and cannot connect with a partner or do not know where to start are still encouraged to apply. If the timeline for phase 1 is too tight for applying or the award window does not make sense for this year, phase 2 is a great option with additional time to plan and connect with a partner.

This program is overseen by Teddy Lyman, the Maine DOE’s new Climate Education Specialist. Teddy will coordinate this program including the application, awards, and deliverables. During the RFA application window, Teddy cannot communicate directly with anyone that might benefit from direct communication that is not publicly available.

Questions about the RFA should be emailed to Teddy at: Theodore.Lyman@maine.gov by 11:59 pm on September 29th, 2023. Questions and answers will be posted publicly at the link below. The Climate Education Specialist will also set and execute a wider range of climate education initiatives throughout the state. This will include working with grant recipients, stakeholders, and youth to design, encourage, and build the future of climate education around Maine.

For more information and updates, check out the DOE climate education webpage.

A copy of the RFA, as well as the Question & Answer Summary and all amendments related to the RFA, can be obtained at: https://www.maine.gov/dafs/bbm/procurementservices/vendors/grants.

Webinar: October 1 Enrollment (EPS Student Count) – September 26, 2023

Join the Data Team for information about the October 1 Student Enrollment report. The data from this report is part of determining state funding allocations to SAUs.

This webinar will be recorded and posted to the DOE Data Youtube Playlist. It may take a few days for the recording to be posted, however, it will be available as soon as possible. Additional information about this webinar can be found on the Webinars page of the Helpdesk Website.

If this webinar is canceled, there will be a notice posted on the Helpdesk Website at the top of the page.

EPS October 1 Student Enrollment Reporting Webinar:

September 26th at 10:00 am

Join the Live event here

For questions about data reporting webinars, please contact Alexandra.Cookson@maine.gov

Reports Open Soon: Fall Reports – October 1 Enrollment, Dropout, and Quarterly Reports

Fall reports will be opening soon. All reports require review, validation and/or certification by superintendents.

Reports Opening:

EPS October 1 Student Enrollment – 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

Reporting guidance, instructions, and webinars about these reports can be found on the Maine DOE Helpdesk page. For questions about these reports please contact MEDMS.Helpdesk@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

Learning Series: Supporting Children, Families, and Communities to Thrive

Maine’s Department of Education’s (DOE) Early Learning Team and Maine’s Office of Child and Family Services are excited to announce a professional learning opportunity for child care and public-school educators working with children birth-8 years old. This opportunity is funded through Maine’s Preschool Development Renewal Grant.

The Maine Resilience Building Network will be hosting a series of free virtual (via ZOOM) professional development sessions. Supporting Children, Families, and Communities to Thrive: Promoting Positive Childhood Experiences and Resilience will bring together early childhood and PK-3 public-school educators to participate in sessions during the fall of 2023. 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.

Date/Time	Program and Registration Link
Tuesday, 10/17/23 6:00-8:00pm	The Impact of Experience: How Adverse Childhood Experiences and Positive Childhood Experiences Impact Healthy Child Development (Part I) https://maineresilience.org/event-5407497
Monday, 10/23/23 6:00-8:00pm	A Framework for Implementing Positive Childhood Experiences to Support Healthy Child Development (Part II) https://maineresilience.org/event-5407549
Thursday, 11/2/23 3:00-5:00pm	Addressing Compassion Fatigue and Resilience Strategies in Educators and Caregivers https://maineresilience.org/event-5407636
Saturday, 11/4/23 9:00-11:00am	The Impact of Experience: How Adverse Childhood Experiences and Positive Childhood Experiences Impact Healthy Child Development (Part I) https://maineresilience.org/event-5407584
Thursday, 11/9/23 3:00-5:00pm	The Impact of Experience: How Adverse Childhood Experiences and Positive Childhood Experiences Impact Healthy Child Development (Part I) https://maineresilience.org/event-5407589
Saturday, 11/18/23 9:00-11:00am	Addressing Compassion Fatigue and Resilience Strategies in Educators and Caregivers https://maineresilience.org/event-5407625
Monday, 11/27/23 3:00-5:00pm	A Framework for Implementing Positive Childhood Experiences to Support Healthy Child Development (Part II) https://maineresilience.org/event-5407598
Saturday, 12/9/23 9:00-11:00am	A Framework for Implementing Positive Childhood Experiences to Support Healthy Child Development (Part II) https://maineresilience.org/event-5407617
Tuesday, 12/12/23 6:00-8:00pm	Addressing Compassion Fatigue and Resilience Strategies in Educators and Caregivers https://maineresilience.org/event-5407706
Monday, 12/18/23 6:00-8:00pm	Addressing Compassion Fatigue and Resilience Strategies in Educators and Caregivers https://maineresilience.org/event-5407630