President Biden Honors Two Maine Teachers with Highest U.S. Award for Science and Mathematics Teachers

This week, President Joe Biden named 104 teachers as recipients of the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) for the 2020 awards cycle. Among the awardees are two outstanding Maine K-6 science teachers: Michele (Mickie) Flores who teaches at Deer Isle-Stonington Elementary School in Deer Isle and Cindy Soule who teaches at Gerald E. Talbot Community School in Portland.

Mickie Flores is in her 36th year of teaching and currently teaches 6th and 7th graders at Deer Isle-Stonington where she alternates years of instruction between a focus on life science, physical science, and earth science. Flores was also the 2015 Hancock County Teacher of the Year through Maine’s Teacher of the Year Program

Cindy Soule is in her 20th year of teaching with all but one year in Portland. She began her career in special education and shifted to being a classroom teacher nearly fifteen years ago. She is currently a 4th grade teacher. Soule is also the 2021 Maine Teacher of the Year and 2020 Cumberland County Teacher of the Year through Maine’s Teacher of the Year Program.

The PAEMST award was established in 1983 and each year the awards criteria alternates between kindergarten through sixth grade and seventh through twelfth grade teachers. Award recipients represent schools from all 50 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, Department of Defense Education Activity (DODEA) schools, and the U.S. territories.

Nominees complete a rigorous application process that allows them to demonstrate deep content knowledge and their ability to adapt to a broad range of learners and teaching environments.

A panel of distinguished mathematicians, scientists, and educators at the state and national levels assess the applications before recommending nominees to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). Teachers are selected based on their distinction in the classroom and dedication to improving STEM education.

The National Science Foundation (NSF), which manages PAEMST on behalf of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), provides each recipient $10,000. Award recipients also receive a certificate signed by the President. For more information, please visit www.paemst.org.

South Portland Adult Education Offers ‘Survival English’ to New Mainers on Site

Pictured: Simon Mayingi, teaching a group of “New Mainers” in the conference room at the South Portland Howard Johnson Hotel last month.

Prior to the pandemic, South Portland (SoPo) Adult Education had been offering English learning classes for several years in a donated space in the West End of South Portland for new Mainers living in that area who needed to learn English. This was in addition to evening classes offered at South Portland High School.

More recently, with the influx of new Mainers arriving here to live, SoPo Adult Ed has been trying something new to help break down barriers for some who may not be able to make it to South Portland High School for evening classes.

Like many people who are seeking to extend their education or even take on full or part-time work, transportation and childcare can be an enormous barrier. Knowing this is the case for many of the new Mainers living in temporary housing in South Portland, the SoPo Adult Education Program collaborated with the Howard Johnson, a location providing temporary housing, to arrange a space to offer basic English to residents on a weekly basis.

“Maybe the best description of the English being offered is, “Survival English,” said South Portland Adult Education Director David Morrill. “Greetings and introduction, recognizing signs and the English word associated with it,” he added.

“Opportunities to gain some basic English skills are an important part of supporting Maine’s newest residents to thrive here,” said April Perkins, Maine Department of Education World Languages & ESOL/Bilingual Programs Specialist. “Removing potential barriers, like transportation and childcare, shows a true commitment to solutions-oriented thinking and responding to the in-the-moment needs of these valued community members. The work South Portland Adult Education is doing is planting the seeds necessary for successful transition to life in Maine – including future employment, academic pursuits, and civic engagement.”

In addition to SoPo Adult Ed’s efforts to provide flexibility in educational offerings for Maine’s new residents, the community of South Portland is providing many other services, community health, social services, in addition to South Portland School Department and surrounding school districts who have been busy transitioning younger new Mainers into the schools.

Marissa, SoPo Adult Ed. Instructor teaching English, July of 2021

Read more about this effort in the local news:

https://www.pressherald.com/2022/01/24/portland-officials-ask-for-help-as-number-of-asylum-seekers-continues-to-grow/

https://www.pressherald.com/2021/12/24/room-at-the-inn-a-south-portland-hotel-goes-all-out-to-help-asylum-seekers/?rel=related

MEDIA RELEASE: Education Commissioner Pender Makin Applauds Governor Mills’ Directive to Expand Summer Outdoor Learning and Enrichment Opportunities for Maine Children

Maine Education Commissioner Pender Makin issued the following statement following Governor Mills’ State of the State address in which she directed the Maine Department of Education to expand summer outdoor opportunities for Maine children:

“We enthusiastically accept Governor Mills’ challenge to expand summer outdoor learning and enrichment opportunities for Maine children. Our state has such an amazing bounty of natural resources for children to explore and learn from, and these experiences build a lifelong love of nature and adventure. We also know that getting outside and interacting with nature allows students to build teamwork and leadership skills, helps reduce stress and anxiety, and the new skills children learn in our vast outdoor classroom enable success inside the classroom as well.

“In response to this challenge, the Department will collaborate with natural resource organizations to provide an immersive and engaging educational experience for students from all over the state. We look forward to engaging with them and our schools to deliver Maine students new opportunities to reconnect and explore all that Maine has to offer and learn from.”

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MEDIA RELEASE: Mills Administration, MSSA Statements on COVID-19 School Health Protocols Discussion

The Maine Departments of Education and Health and Human Services and the Maine School Superintendent Association released the following statements on today’s meeting about COVID-19 school health protocols:

“As the COVID-19 pandemic has evolved, our meetings with the Department of Education and Maine school superintendents provide a valuable opportunity to discuss how to help local communities make decisions that support the best educational experience possible for Maine children,” said Health and Human Services Commissioner Jeanne Lambrew and Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention Director Nirav D. Shah. “ As our COVID-19 trends show positive signs, this meeting was a collaborative and productive discussion and we will continue to evaluate public health recommendations for schools, including testing and masking, that will help keep students safely in Maine classrooms.”

“The Maine School Superintendent Association and our members appreciate the ongoing conversations with Maine CDC,” said Maine School Superintendent Association Executive Director Eileen King. “We hope that our concerns and experiences will help to guide a plan forward that will safely reduce the need for mitigation strategies against COVID-19 in schools.”

“Today’s conversation was an excellent opportunity to continue building understanding between the community health experts and school leaders who are tasked with providing safe, in-person learning,” said Commissioner of Education Pender Makin. “We are immensely proud of the incredible leadership our school superintendents continue to demonstrate in the midst of an ongoing pandemic, and for their perspectives. We are also grateful for the continued guidance and partnership with Maine CDC as they help our schools adjust to evolving conditions and recommendations.”

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Maine School-Based Community Service Projects Honored with Spirit of America Education Tribute

Spirit of America, a public charity which honors volunteerism in Maine, recently announced six school-based community service projects and two people as winners of its Education Tribute.

The Spirit of America Education Tribute award honors a local person, project, or group for commendable community service. The people and projects nominated for the award are school-wide projects and people that promote teamwork and cooperation, and involve youth, families, and community members.

Maine Spirit of America’s appointed committee or School Districts selected the following winners:

Barbara Astbury – a bus driver at MSAD 11 who dedicated her 40+ year career to driving school buses.
Monmouth Academy & Monmouth Memorial School in RSU 2 – Students participating in student government worked together with community partners to “Stuff the Bus” for the food pantry and help the Cotrell Taylor fund for families in need during the holidays.
Amanda Condon – a School Resource Office (SRO) for the Saco School Department’s Prek through middle school students who embodies the best qualities of a female leader and role model. Read more about Officer Condon here.
Laynee’s Sole Purpose – a project started by 8-year-old Laynee Kirby from Caribou Community School that aims to provide shoes for kids in need. Read more about the project here.
Lewiston High School’s “The Store Next Door” Project – Since 2006, Lewiston High School has created in-depth supplemental services to help eliminate barriers to education for youth and families experiencing high mobility and homelessness by addressing students’ basic needs. Read more about The Store Next Door on their website or Facebook Page.
Maine FFA Association’s Homelessness and Food Insecurity Project – a valuable statewide community project that gave FFA students the opportunity to address issues of homelessness and food insecurity. Learn more about the project here.
Piscataquis Community Elementary School’s “Behind the Mask” Project – a group of students and educators from Piscataquis Community Elementary School published a book called “Behind the Mask.” Almost all of the content was written and/or drawn by the kids. They presented the books to individuals and organizations who helped the school get through a difficult year (2020-2021 school year) during a school assembly. Read more about the project here.
Re-Designing Saco Middle School Entrance – a project that brought together art, science, community service, and social emotional learning for 6th grade Saco students by having them redesign the entrance to their school with a mosaic garden. Read more about the project here.

To learn more about Spirit of America and their Education Tribute, visit their website: https://spirame.org/.

MEDIA RELEASE: Maine Department of Education and Educate Maine Launch Guest School Staff Member Campaign

The Maine Department of Education and Educate Maine have partnered to launch a Guest School Staff Member campaign with a challenge to businesses, leaders, and citizens to help fill the needs in our schools. Guest School Staff Members can serve a variety of roles in schools, filling in for or supporting bus drivers, playground monitors, food service workers, teachers, and support staff.

As part of the effort, the Department of Education unveiled a new Guest School Staff website to streamline the application process into nine easy steps and the Department will automatically reimburse applicants for the $15 application and $55 fingerprinting fees. For those employers who grant volunteer days to their employees, encouraging those staff to sign up to be a Guest School Staff Member for a day or two can make a real difference. Two days times 50 employees equals 100 days of support that helps keep students in school and engaged in learning.

“This is a call to action because our schools need you to serve as a guest school staff member,” said Maine Education Commissioner Pender Makin. “Over the last few weeks, I’ve been in schools working as a substitute in classrooms, joining cafeteria staff to serve fresh and nutritious meals, helping with lunch duty and clean up, and filling in wherever necessary. There are so many ways you can fill the needs in our schools, and it’s been such a joy to experience the amazing work happening across all parts of our schools and to be with amazing students and school staff.”

Maine’s schools have been safely open for business, ensuring that students have access whenever possible to high quality, in-person learning. But the statewide surge of COVID-19 has increased school staffing shortages, and many schools have had to make emergency and disruptive pivots to remote learning, simply because they do not have enough adults to ensure that schools can operate safely and effectively. Guest School Staff Members can help fill these gaps and ensure schools remain open to serve our students.

“Recently, at an Educate Maine Board meeting, Heather Whitaker, 2020 Maine Teacher of the Year, talked about the lack of substitute teachers in the Gorham School district and across the state and the impact this shortage is having on students, teachers and parents. Our Board decided that if ever there was a time for business and education to work together, this is it,” said Clif Greim, Educate Maine Board Chair and Maine State Chamber Board Chair. “This ‘call to action’ is an opportunity for us to work with our education partners to alleviate some of the burden by having employers urge employees to serve as substitute teachers in their local schools.”

“While this may not be a long-term solution, it will help ease some of the stress and strain on the educators in our schools and we appreciate the Department of Education’s efforts,” said Maine Education Association President Grace Leavitt.

“You can make a real difference and be a hero by supporting our schools and students,” said Makin. “You can choose which districts you want to support, in many instances when and where you want to work, and it won’t cost you anything but your time, which will be well spent with our amazing young people. I promise you’ll be inspired by the energy and miracles that fill our schools each and every day.”

“Superintendents have been doing everything possible to make sure classrooms have teachers and schools have what they need to educate our students, but we simply need more people to support our schools, staff, and students,” said Eileen King, Maine School Superintendent Association Executive Director. “We welcome this creative effort to create an easy process for people interested in substituting to connect with their districts, apply, and work towards supporting our students. We need you, so apply today!”

“Our school principals continue to be tasked with patching together staffing plans and covering vacancies, trying to keep students safely learning in classrooms, despite the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 on school staff availability,” said Holly Blair, Executive Director of Maine Principals’ Association. “The efforts of Maine DOE and Educate Maine to raise awareness to the need and ease the process for substitute school staff is greatly appreciated, and we join in their call to business and community members to consider become guest school staff heroes.”

For additional details and to become a Guest School Staff Member visit: www.maine.gov/doe/substitute or download this one-pager.

Information for Schools Regarding Browntail Moth Infestations

The following information comes from the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.

Schools are critical spaces to recognize and respond to browntail moth (BTM) infestations, to avoid impacts to students and staff. While long-lasting tree defoliation and branch dieback are concerns, impacts to the health of students and staff are the most pressing concerns around schools. The microscopic, toxic hairs of BTM can cause trouble breathing and skin irritation similar to poison ivy, lasting from a few hours to up to several weeks. Some people say they experience itching with fewer than ten webs per tree or shrub; others say they have no symptoms from heavier infestations around their yards. In 2021, Maine Forest Service (MFS) surveys uncovered populations of this insect in every Maine county except York, where it is also likely to be found.

In areas where BTM is not managed, exposures to the toxic hairs peak from late-May through July but are possible throughout the year. You can take actions right now, from February to the end of March, to reduce impacts at the end of the school year along with any summer use of the school grounds. There is only a short window of time to complete these actions. Please consider speaking with your facilities manager, custodians, and staff now to create an action plan.

For more information and support on how to respond to potential browntail moth infestations view the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry latest bulletin.

For further information and for answers to your questions:

Call 211 or 1-877-463-6207
Text your ZIP code to 898-211

MEDIA RELEASE: Application Process Open for Student Position on Maine State Board of Education

Student voice is critically important to the Maine State Board of Education, and they are seeking applications for the newest student member to join the Board. Applications are being accepted February 1, 2022 – March 1, 2022.

The Maine State Board of Education has two nonvoting student members who join the Board as high school juniors and serve for two years, one enrolled in a school in Maine’s First Congressional District; the other enrolled in a school in the Second Congressional District. At all times, the State Board has one high school junior and one senior as members, with staggered appointment.

Applications are currently being accepted from students who attend school in the Second Congressional District (includes Androscoggin, Aroostook, Franklin, Hancock, Oxford, Penobscot, Piscataquis, Somerset, Waldo, Washington counties, and part of Kennebec County) and are currently a high school sophomore. Application materials are available on the State Board of Education web page. The Board has also emailed and mailed application materials to all Second Congressional District high school principals and school counselors. Completed applications should be mailed to:

Mary Becker, Maine State Board of Education
23 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333-0023

After applications close on March 1, 2022, they will be reviewed according to the process described in Maine Education and School Statutes, Title 20-A, Chapter 5, State Board of Education. Semifinalists will be interviewed in March 2022, after which three finalists will be chosen. The names and application materials of the finalists will be sent to the Governor’s office for final selection. The selected student will be appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Maine State Senate.

This is an extraordinary opportunity for Maine students to practice civic engagement while serving as both a representative of Maine students and an active education leader in our state.

For further information please visit the Maine State Board of Education web page or contact Mary Becker, Board Assistant, at 624-6616 or via email at Mary.Becker@maine.gov.

New Resource for School Districts: McKinney-Vento Community Regional Representatives

Through a new partnership with service providers statewide, funded by the American Rescue Plan Homeless Children and Youth state reservation, the Maine Department of Education has contracted with several organizations to provide county-specific support to schools for implementing the requirements of the McKinney-Vento Act. These organizations include New Beginnings, Preble Street, Shaw House, Gateway Community Services Maine, and the Maine Youth Action Board.

Over the next two years, McKinney-Vento Regional Representatives from these organizations will be meeting with each McKinney-Vento liaison around the state to learn how to best support schools’ work with identification, outreach, and referral services for students and families who are experiencing housing instability. The Maine DOE Homeless Education State Coordinator, Amelia Lyons, will continue to provide professional development and technical assistance to School Administrative Units directly as well.

The Maine Department of Education will kick off this collaboration with virtual regional meetings to introduce, share available resources, and hold space to discuss the most pressing issues schools in Maine are currently facing with homelessness.

Who: McKinney-Vento district liaisons and building points of contact

When:

Androscoggin, Franklin, & Oxford Counties Tuesday, March 1 2:00-3:00 Register here	Kennebec & Somerset Counties Wednesday, March 2 1:00-2:00 Register here	York & Cumberland Counties Tuesday, March 8 11:00-12:00 Register here	Aroostook County Thursday, March 10 10:00-11:00am Register here
Penobscot & Piscataquis Counties Tuesday, March 8 12:00-1:00 Register here	Mid Coast Counties Tuesday, March 8 1:00-2:00 Register here	Washington & Hancock Counties Wednesday, March 9 10:00-11:00 Register here

Download the flyer (PDF)

For More Information Contact:

Amelia Lyons at amelia.lyons@maine.gov or
Susan Lieberman at susan.lieberman88@gmail.com.

Mini-Grant Funds of up to $2,000 Available for CTE Culinary Arts Programs

The application process is now open for mini-grant funds from the UMaine Extension Professional Development in Agriculture Literacy (PDAL) program to support Maine High School Career & Technical Education (CTE) Culinary Arts Instructors.

These funds can be used for agricultural literacy education programs at Maine High School CTE Culinary Arts Programs. The deadline for email submission of the application materials is 5:00pm on March 1, 2022. Selected projects will receive funds by March 31, 2022.

Follow this link for grant applications: https://maine.agclassroom.org/programs/grants/

To apply, complete the application form and provide a short description of your proposed project, estimated budget, timeline, and how it will impact agricultural literacy education and/or promote the use of local foods in your Culinary Arts Program.

For more information or technical support contact Kathy Savoie at ksavoie@maine.edu.