Students Learn About Camping and the Outdoors at LearningWorks’ 21st Century Program in Saco

This summer, LearningWorks’ 21st Century Learning Center in Saco is hosting students entering grades K-2 for a summer program focused on camping and the outdoors.

Students practice math, literacy, and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) skills while learning practical skills for spending time outside. Students learned to pitch tents, made a solar oven for cooking without fire, and collected leaves and sticks for art projects.

Each student is keeping a nature journal to document their observations and findings. In the next few weeks, students will learn to identify leaf shapes, recognize animal tracks, and use a compass. The program is also planning on visiting a fire station to learn about outdoor fire safety and taking a nature walk to apply some of the skills they have learned in a real-world situation.

“Students have loved spending time outdoors and have been able to put into practice what they are learning when going outside with their families this summer,” said Colby Senior, Saco and Biddeford Site Director for LearningWorks Afterschool and 21st Century Community Learning Centers.

Funded through the U.S. Department of Education’s Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) program, Maine currently has 35 CCLC grants and 61 CCLC sites across Maine that provide academic enrichment opportunities during non-school hours for children, particularly for students who face economic and/or academic challenges. With strong community partnerships at the core of every one of its programs, Maine’s 21st Century Learning Centers help students meet academic goals and offer a broad array of enrichment activities, in addition to other educational and engagement opportunities for communities and families. Learn more about Maine’s CCLC grant opportunities at https://www.maine.gov/doe/learning/esea or reach out to Travis Doughty at travis.w.doughty@maine.gov.

2022 Foreign Language Association of Maine Summer Institute

The Foreign Language Association of Maine in collaboration with The University of Maine Department of Modern Languages and Classics invites you to the 2022 FLAME Summer Institute.

Date: August 22, 2022
Place: University of Maine, Orono. Bennett Hall Bldg.
Time: 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Cost: Registration is $50 with FLAME membership 2022-2023. $60 without FLAME membership. Registration for new teachers and student teachers (0-1 year of experience)$30 with FLAME membership 2022-2023, $40 without membership (learn more about becoming a FLAME member here).

Keynote Speaker: Gisela Hoecherl-Alden, Assistant Dean & Director of Language Instruction Professor of the Practice in German at Boston University.

Gisela Hoecherl-Alden is currently Professor of German and Assistant Dean and Director of Language Instruction at Boston University, where she works closely with the faculty in over 20 language programs. She recently received ACTFL’s Nelson Brooks Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Culture and has also served on the boards of the Northeast Conference, American Association of Teachers of German, and FLAME.

Keynote Address: Starting Strong: Where Do We Go From Here?

As we reimagine our language classes, we let our experiences teaching during the pandemic and our students’ aspirations and fears guide us. While we ensure that our students engage with products, practices and perspectives from target language communities, we also help them move from basic concepts to big questions, so they learn to think critically about how social structures impact daily lives. The talk explores how and why our language classes are important sites for connecting with social justice issues and highlights approaches to making them relevant for a changed reality.

Session Highlights:

5 Tricks to start the year strong! Ready to go activities for the first week of school
How to Integrate Cooking into Language Learning?
How to Love Teaching and Prevent Burnout
Card talk in Bulgarian
Creating Comprehensible Input Activities with Authentic Resources
Responsibility of the Cultural & Language Broker
How to create a lesson from an authentic game

For a full list of sessions and descriptions click here.

Register here for the Summer Institute!
(Paypal link).
Deadline to register is August 15, 2022

A Year of Success and Innovation: Rethinking Responsive Education Ventures at MSAD 28

The first round of RREV (Rethinking Responsive Education Ventures) Awardees were announced in August of 2021. RREV is an initiative of the Maine Department of Education, funded by the Education Stabilization Funds through the US Department of Education’s Rethink K-12 Education Models, that bolsters Maine educators’ innovative efforts to support their students with agile, effective, and resilient learning experiences that improve learning outcomes for all students. Now, after a year of experience and development, the Department of Education would like to thank the awardees for their dedication to innovative education and highlight their achievements that have resulted from the RREV contracts over the past year. Continue reading to learn more about the ways in which MSAD 28 has used their RREV funding this past year.

When MSAD 28 (Camden-Rockport Schools) first received funding in August 2021, they wanted to create outdoor learning spaces and offer programming for students and teachers that would enhance their educational experience, an idea that was informed by research regarding the positive impacts of outdoor learning. However, like most organizations (and people), MSAD 28 encountered some issues as they navigated their way through the pandemic. The implementation of their RREV project over the past year has been impacted by labor shortages and supply chain issues, and the creation of outdoor structures for classes was put on hold. However, even with delays in their plans, the district still found enormous success. Despite not having outdoor structures as soon as they planned, educators were still able to teach outside, and the district found great success in their community collaboration model.

In the fall, they introduced their first Pre-K program grounded in nature-based learning experiences for young children. While the district had been hoping to create a Pre-K program since 2017, the RREV funding provided the opportunity to implement it. Last school year, MSAD 28’s first Pre-K class started school in an entirely outdoor-based program. “They are learning the letters and they are doing it all outside, despite the weather,” Assistant Superintendent Debra McIntyre said. According to her, the impacts that the outdoor education has had on students is profound. The growth they have seen in them, she said, is “unbelievable.”

It’s not just Pre-K classes that are taking their learning outside, though. Every single teacher and student had at least one class outside at some point in the year, even without outdoor structures to teach and learn in. The effects of the outdoor learning, McIntyre says, are evident throughout the student body, as being outdoors has helped lessen many behavioral concerns.

McIntyre believes none of it would be possible without their collaborative model, though. “Collaboration is essential,” she said, “It has been the underpinning to support the work.” The district has collaborated with regional organizations including Hurricane Island, to provide ongoing professional development and coaching to prepare them to teach outside. Teachers use these community collaborators as experts, co-planning and co-facilitating student learning activities. McIntyre believes this “residency” model provides the expertise, support, and confidence the staff needs to make outdoor learning a common part of curriculum.

Moving forward, the district is excited to construct the outdoor spaces and classrooms before the June 30, 2023 funding deadline and continue providing opportunities for their students to learn through play, exploration and have opportunities to utilize a variety of tools and materials to enhance and extend their learning. They also look forward to continuing with the partnerships, collaborations, and connections they have created throughout this year to provide their students the most beneficial and experiential education possible.

Martin Mackey, the former RREV Project Director who tragically passed away in April of this year, embodied the RREV spirit: to think and act boldly to meet the needs of students. His passion was to “change lives.” As such, he challenged each and every RREV participant to do just that as they designed pilot ideas that would ultimately have a lasting systemic impact on students. After 18 months of leading RREV, Martin’s passion had been passed on to almost 200 educators who had participated in innovation professional development. From those educators, 27 Pilot ideas were brought to fruition and have received over $5.7 million in RREV awards. Through their pilot ideas, these educators have pledged to commit themselves to innovation.

The Maine DOE encourages all schools and districts across the State of Maine to learn more about these innovative educators and their RREV pilots through the RREV website and the online RREV collaborative platform known as EnGiNE. It is through EnGiNE that we all hope to continue the Martin Momentum to change students’ lives through innovative and responsive educational programs.

Get to Know the Maine DOE Team: Meet Titus O’Rourke

Maine DOE Team member Titus O’Rourke is being highlighted as part of the Get to Know the Maine DOE Team Campaign. Learn a little more about Titus in the question and answer below.

What are your roles with DOE?

I am the Extended Eligibility and Transition Specialist with the Office of Special Services. I am in the process of creating, developing, and promoting effective transition initiatives that are student-centered and student-driven.

What do you like best about your job?

First and foremost, I love my team members! They are the most kind yet passionate advocates who carve out pathways to securing IDEA requirements while being responsive to evolving learning research and exemplary educational practices. Yep, my team members are very kind and super intelligent. I am genuinely humbled to have been selected to work with this team of visionaries. And the cross-agency collaborative nature of my position not only improves outcomes for our Maine scholars with diverse needs but also allows me to meet highly-motivated, passionate LEA and SEA leads and leaders.

How or why did you decide on this career?

As a former special education teacher, I found that the value of quality of transition planning as it ties to post-secondary success directly correlates to our graduation and dropout rates. Moreover, when our scholars successfully engage in quality and comprehensive transition support, it helps them realize their potential in life after high school. And who would not want a job that helps our kiddos realize their dreams?

What do you like to do outside of work for fun?

Checking out what my community events have to offer,
Pull out the board games…and WIN!
Work in my garden, battling the weeds. Unfortunately, the weeds always win.
Go on a nature hike, and FISH! I love fishing!
Read a book or go to the library – for something other than reading.

Free One-Day National Conference for Educators: Virtual State of Agriculture

Maine Agriculture in the Classroom (MACITC) is offering a FREE Professional Development Opportunity from National Agriculture in the Classroom and CHS Foundation. The Virtual State of Agriculture is a one-day virtual conference on July 28th from 10:00am – 5:45pm (ET).

The conference will will feature a keynote address from the award-winning author Peggy Thomas. Sessions will feature a variety of agricultural subjects and interests for all grade levels. There are two session tracks, one for elementary and one for secondary, and participants can switch back and forth to any session that interests them.

Join us for a day sure to leave you with valuable agricultural literacy resources and excitement for the new school year!

Learn more and register here.

For more information reach out to Maine Agriculture in the Classroom at P: 207.287.5522 or E: maitc@maine.gov.

Governor Mills Announces Statewide Expansion of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Maine

During a virtual discussion with iconic singer-songwriter Dolly Parton at the National Governor’s Association today, Governor Janet Mills announced that the State of Maine is launching a statewide expansion of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in 2023.

The Imagination Library of Maine will mail high-quality, age appropriate books to children from birth until age five every month, no matter their family’s income. The program is dedicated to improving the lives of children by inspiring a love of reading with books, and is free to enrolled children and families.

As part of the recent bipartisan budget, Governor Mills proposed, and the Legislature approved, a $200,000 investment to implement the program, which will be administered by the Maine State Library. Together, The Dollywood Foundation and the Maine State Library will develop an implementation strategy this year with local libraries, community non-profits, the Maine Department of Education, and school systems – to establish and expand the program in the coming years. By the end of 2023, the State of Maine and the Imagination Library hope to have sent an initial 106,000 books to more than 14,000 children across Maine.

Maine is the 13^th state to commit to achieving statewide coverage of the program.

“We know the simple act of reading to a child stimulates brain development, reduces stress and anxiety, builds vocabulary, and develops the literacy skills they’ll need to succeed in school and beyond,” said Governor Janet Mills. “Today, we are taking another step forward to help make that happen by delivering books free of charge to Maine kids. Maine is proud to join the family of states that participate in the Imagination Library. On behalf of all Maine children who will be served by this program in the years to come, I thank the one-and-only Dolly Parton.”

“The Maine State Library is excited to be able to administer this program that will eventually connect tens of thousands of families and Maine children with wonderful books sent right to their homes,” said State Librarian James Ritter. “Working with Maine’s libraries and other organizations, we will have the opportunity to foster and grow generations of young readers through the Imagination Library, and for every child that learns to read, we know we are helping to build a community of lifelong learners.”

The Imagination Library builds on the Mills Administration’s commitment to increasing childhood literacy in Maine, including investing $10 million through the Governor’s Maine Jobs and Recovery Plan to create and expand pre-school programs across Maine.

The Administration is also creating “Literacy for ME 2.0” to revamp its statewide literacy plan and the Maine Association for Improving Literacy to mobilize a network of educators who are committed to supporting statewide literacy efforts.

This summer, the Maine Department of Education will also be hosting its first ever Educator Summit to train our teachers in the most effective, evidence-based practices for increasing childhood literacy. Every year, the Department also sponsors the statewide “Read to Me” challenge to encourage adults to read to their children.

In 2019, about 57 percent of fourth grade students who are eligible for free or reduced lunch scored below proficiency reading levels while 33 percent of students who are not eligible for free or reduced lunch scored below proficiency reading levels. However, Maine is ranked fifth in the nation for the percentage of parents with children aged 0 to 5 who read to their children every day (46.9 percent).

Dolly Parton founded the Imagination Library in 1995 as a way to distribute books to the impoverished Tennessee county where she grew up. The State of Tennessee quickly adopted the program statewide, and, since then, the nonprofit program has expanded into five countries. As of June 2022, the Imagination Library has gifted 184,615,046 books with over 2 million kids currently registered.

According to The Dollywood Foundation, 90 percent of a child’s brain is developed by the age of five, making that time period critically important for their development that can be enhanced by reading books. The Foundation notes that daily readings by parents or caregivers provide the greatest opportunity to prepare their child for school and that literacy is a major social determinant of health and economic impact in the long-term.

About Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library

Since launching in 1995, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has become the preeminent early childhood book-gifting program in the world. The flagship program of The Dollywood Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, has gifted well over 182 million free books in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and The Republic of Ireland. The Imagination Library mails more than 2 million high-quality, age-appropriate books each month to enrolled children from birth to age five. Dolly envisioned creating a lifelong love of reading, inspiring children to dream more, learn more, care more and be more. The impact of the program has been widely researched and results suggest positive increases in key early childhood literacy metrics. Penguin Random House is the exclusive publisher for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. For more information, please visit imaginationlibrary.com

Reminder: Live and Work in Maine Community Event for Educators July 19th at the Roux Institute

Live and Work in Maine is hosting a series of community events around the state, and the Maine Department of Education is a partner for their July 19th event for educators.

Please RSVP below.

Details:

Welcome Home event – Portland

July 19th, 2022

Location: Roux Institute, 100 Fore St, Portland, ME 04101

Time: 5-7pm

About: Recently moved to Maine? Are you a Boomerang who decided to move back? Or maybe you’re a community member looking to make new connections. We all call Maine home, so come out to meet others in the community.

RSVP here: www.liveandworkinmaine.com/welcomehome (select Portland/Roux option)

Live and Work in Maine is a nonprofit with the mission of attracting and retaining Maine’s workforce. They are a career network and serve as the leading resource for those looking to relocate, keep, or start their careers in Maine. Learn more at: LiveWorkMaine.com

Media Release: Computer Science Education Showcase Highlights Maine’s Interdisciplinary, Project-Based Approach to Computer Science

Students and educators from across Maine showed off their computer science skills at the Maine Department of Education’s Computer Science Education Showcase at the Roux Institute. The showcase highlighted innovative computer science education programs in schools across Maine, with hands on, interactive exhibits featuring robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), 3D design and printing, coding, augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR), data science, cybersecurity, and more.

Maine has long been a leader in integrating technology and learning, and that holds true with computer science education. Instead of computer science being a separate course only some students take or an “add on”, Maine provides the support and resources to encourage all schools to provide interdisciplinary, project-based computer science learning experiences that incorporate computational and critical thinking, innovation and design processes, and applied learning at all grade levels and across all subject areas.

The Computer Science Education Showcase illustrated the state’s approach, with VR headsets transporting users to Maine State Parks which a student developed over the course of last summer, 3D printing demonstrations, a full-size arcade game developed by students, 6th graders demonstrating their block coding skills, a wide array of apps and websites around difference content areas created by students, and a robotics room with world champion level robotics teams. All Pre-K through 12 grade levels were represented, with educators highlighting how they were incorporating computer science education at younger grade levels, including having 5th grade students partner with kindergarten students to teach them basic coding skills and a new mobile makerspace that will rotate between elementary schools offering computer science education for Pre-K through fifth grade students.

Maine Department of Education Commissioner Pender Makin, University of Maine President Joan Ferrini-Mundy, 2022 Presidential Scholar Sirohi Kumar, Bethel second grade teacher Alice Lee, Jackson Labs Vice President for Education Charlie Wray, and the Roux Institute’s Chief Administrative Officer Chris Mallett participated in a panel discussion on how Maine is paving the way for students and teachers to be successful in the world of computer science. The discussion focused on reaching more students, making computer science more accessible to all, taking an interdisciplinary approach to computer science education, and how the critical and computational thinking, collaboration, and creative design skills developed through computer science education are critical to success in nearly every career and 21st century life.

“Computer science is about approaching a problem with optimism, logic, critical thinking, design thinking, creativity and vision. We need to make computer science accessible for every educator and every student and continue this tradition that we’ve started in Maine of interdisciplinary, project-based computer science education across all grades that is really contextualized in a way that is meaningful for kids,” said Education Commissioner Pender Makin.

“There is this perception of computer science that it’s for an elite group, and in reality that’s not the case–it can be used for everything including art, science, and music. I think computer science education should be framed for everyone at a very young age that computer science can solve whatever problem or scenario you have regardless of what field it is,” said Sirohi Kumar a 2022 Presidential Scholar from Mount Desert Island.

“The more we can engage with computer science at the Pre-K through 12 level, the more ready everyone is for whatever comes afterward. These students here tonight are getting a head start with these skills. It’s going to matter for your futures,” said University of Maine President Joan Ferrini-Mundy.

“Building those skills of computer science at the youngest level—problem solving, debugging, innovating, and creativity. These basic skills are really what our young learners need to take off academically,” said second grade teacher Alice Lee from Bethel.

“We now live in a world that is immersed in big data and the amount of data being generated is so tremendous that this next generation has this great opportunity to enter so many career fields where computer science has a touchpoint. It’s not just being a software engineer or computer scientist, but all of us can learn and solve problems with big data and the amount of careers that can come out of good computer science education is endless,” said Jackson Labs Vice President for Education Charlie Wray.

“This concept of computer science for everyone is important. These competencies and literacies are no longer siloed; they work across the spectrum. The logic and reasoning that comes from computer science paired with the creativity of a liberal arts education, it’s the intersection of these skills that all of us have the potential to develop that is going to propel the Maine economy and the Maine workforce of the future,” said the Roux Institute’s Chief Administrative Officer Chris Mallett.

The Maine Department of Education and the Mills administration continue to support and bolster computer science education in Maine:

The DOE works continually with educators, business leaders, and others to update and adapt Maine’s statewide computer science education plan and the Department’s work is guided by seven key principles;
Governor Mills signed onto Governor Hutchison’s computer science compact;
The DOE hired a computer science specialist to work with schools and has committed additional resources to support educators and schools in integrating authentic, project-based Pre-K through 12 computer science education;
Governor Mills signed a bill providing $50,000 in professional learning support for educators on computer science, with an emphasis on educators in rural areas and serving marginalized communities, and another $50,000 will be awarded this coming school year;
Next month’s Educator Summit will feature several professional learning opportunities for educators on computer science education;
The DOE developed its first Pre-K through 12 online computer science learning progression last year focused on computational thinking and a new progression will soon be launched; and
The DOE is doubling the number of Maine Learning Technology Initiative (MLTI) Ambassadors that work in schools to support the integration of technology and learning, including computer science education.

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MTSS Monday Minute, July 11th, 2022 – Reviewing Maine’s MTSS Framework Graphic – Is now available!

Have you seen the most recent MTSS (multi-tiered system of supports) Monday Minute? This week’s M&M features a sort of “fieldtrip” where we navigate over to a video within the video and explore Maine’s MTSS Framework as it appears on the MTSS webpage. In the video we walk through each of the 4 pillars of the framework and briefly explore the components of each pillar.

Summer book club reminder!

All of the available texts for the MTSS summer book clubs have been accounted for, and most have been mailed. The Effective Universal Instruction books are completely mailed, and the few remaining copies of The Knowledge Gap that still need to go out will be mailed later this week. Remember, ALL educators are welcome to join the book discussion by registering below. So, if you have read the book and want to join in, please do so! And, if you are waiting for the Effective Universal Protocol to come out, you can expect that to be mailed by the end of the day, Monday, July 11th.

For further information, reach out to Andrea Logan, Maine DOE Multi-tiered Systems of Support Specialist at andrea.logan@maine.gov.

Live and Work in Maine Community Event for Educators July 19th at the Roux Institute