MEDIA RELEASE: State Finalists Announced for 2021 Maine Teacher of the Year

Three Maine teachers have been announced as State finalists for the 2021 Maine Teacher of the Year program. The finalists were chosen from the 2020 Maine County Teachers of the Year honored earlier this year during a special virtual ceremony which was viewed over 7,000 times.

The Maine Teacher of the Year program honors outstanding teachers who represent the thousands of excellent educators in Maine. Maine’s Teacher of the Year serves as an advocate for the teaching profession, education and students, and represents Maine in the National Teacher of the Year program.

Each educator was nominated by a member of their community for their exemplary service in education and dedication to their students. They were selected by a distinguished panel of teachers, principals, and business community members from a pool of hundreds of other nominated teachers in their communities.

The Maine Department of Education, Educate Maine, Maine State Board of Education and the Maine State Teacher of the Year Association are pleased to announce that Cindy Soule (Cumberland), Alison Babb-Brott (Knox) and Heather Webster (Lincoln) are moving on as 2021 State Finalists.

Please join us in congratulating the 2021 Maine Teacher of the Year finalists.

Cindy Soule

Gerald A. Talbot Community School, Portland
2020 Cumberland County Teacher of the Year

Cindy Soule creates a learning community that disrupts the opportunity gap. For twenty of her twenty-one years of teaching, she has been committed to one of Maine’s most diverse schools, the Gerald E. Talbot Community School, in Portland, Maine. Soule fosters a dynamic learning environment that inspires curiosity and citizenship in her fourth-grade students.

A lifelong resident of Maine, Soule developed an appreciation for the natural world. This passion is evident in her teaching. She grounds learning in real world contexts and encourages students to construct scientific understanding through observation, questioning, and collaborative thinking.  Through inquiry and discourse, Soule empowers students to see themselves as meaningful contributors to their community. This work is recognized by her Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching candidacy.

Soule contributes to a positive culture of collective efficacy where students thrive. To enrich student learning, she partners with community organizations to include Side X Side, the Maine Audubon, and the Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance. She serves as a representative on the Portland Schools Literacy Committee, Talbot Leadership Team, Building Steering Committee, RTI Team, and Science Teams. On behalf of students, Soule is a recipient of Portland Education Foundation, TD Banknorth and DonorsChoose grants.

Soule holds a Master of Science in Special Education from the University of Southern Maine and a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work from the University of Maine at Orono. A 2020 Funds for Teachers Fellow, she looks forward to continued professional discovery and learning.

Alison Babb-Brott

St. George School, St. George
2020 Knox County Teacher of the Year

Alison Babb-Brott is the second grade teacher at St. George School in St. George, Maine, where she has taught since 2016. Babb-Brott is inspired by the power and potential of young students and sets the bar for high expectations, as evidenced by her students’ engagement and achievement. She believes that by teaching students to be the leaders of their classroom and academic careers, they will in turn become leaders of their communities and their world.

Babb-Brott teaches learning expeditions that connect students with authentic, local experiences – like her “Plants and Pollinators” expedition, in which students study local flora and fauna and plant pollinator gardens – and also expose students to global perspectives – like her “Schools and Community” expedition, in which students explore schools around the world to find similarities that connect them and differences that challenge them.

Underlying Babb-Brott’s content delivery is a fierce commitment to the development of her students’ character. Every interaction is designed to teach and support integrous care for student dialogue, classroom culture, and academic achievement.

Babb-Brott graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2012 with a Bachelor of Science in Hospitality and Tourism Management. She later received her Master of Education at the University of Massachusetts Boston in 2015.

She returned to teach in Maine as the ocean and her family called her home. On a boat in Penobscot Bay or in the stands at her younger sister’s soccer games, she is happiest surrounded by friends and family.

Heather Webster

Medomak Valley High School, Waldoboro
2020 Lincoln County Teacher of the Year

Heather Webster is an English teacher at Medomak Valley High School in Waldoboro, Maine, where she has just completed her 19th year. Webster is an active teacher-leader who is always focused on improving the school experience for all students; she has served on many and varied committees and particularly enjoys developing student-centered curriculum. She is the co-founder of the school’s student-staffed writing center. She also started Storybook Theater, a community service drama program where high school students bring a book to life for elementary students.

Webster recognizes the importance of relationships and works to establish positive ones both in and out of the classroom. Her classroom motto, from the Apollo 13 mission, is “Failure is not an option,” and she works to provide students with choices and multiple opportunities to demonstrate knowledge, often seeking out or creating, project-based activities to employ in her classroom.

Webster graduated from the University of Maine in 1991, where she received her Bachelor of Arts in English. She later completed the coursework for teaching certification and is currently pursuing a Master of Education in Literacy with a concentration in Writing and the Teaching of Writing at the University of Maine. Family, both nuclear and extended, are of utmost importance to Webster. Her husband, Phil, supports her endeavors, and parenting her 16-year-old son Russell has definitely contributed to making her a better teacher. She loves reading, writing, and scrapbooking, and can often be found on horseback navigating woods trails or circling a show ring.

One of these three teachers will be named the 2021 Maine Teacher of the Year, an honor awarded each year to one teacher in Maine. The announcement will be in October after the final stages of the selection process are complete.

Maine Teacher of the Year is a program of the Maine Department of Education, administered by Educate Maine. For more information, visit http://www.mainetoy.org.

Mother and Son Team Up for Virtual Farm to School Cook-off

When the pandemic closed school buildings abruptly in March, the annual Maine Farm to School Cook-off was put on hold. The cook-off is an annual competition among students and school nutrition staff, featuring Maine grown ingredients, organized by the Maine Child Nutrition office. As an alternative, a virtual Farm to School Cook-off was offered to participating teams to showcase their prepared meals in a virtual format.

Capitalizing on the unique opportunity of being in the same household during the pandemic, Gina and Caleb of Team “Sonday” from RSU 54, playfully named to showcase the mother and son duo, embraced the challenge and created breakfast and lunch videos to showcase the meals they had planned for the cook-off.

Two challenge ingredients were part of the competition, donated by Maine farms and producers, including rolled oats from Maine Grains in Skowhegan and ground beef from Common Hill Farm in Jackson.

The team did a great job showcasing the recipes they used which consisted of a strawberry shortcake smoothie for breakfast (what creative use of rolled oats!), and a Mexican inspired lunch, consisting of a taco mashup bowl and Mexican fruit salad. Check out the videos created by this stellar team.

Thank you, Gina and Caleb, for your dedication to this event and for being an annual participant in our Farm to School Cook-off since School Year 2017. Team Sonday will be awarded a breakfast and lunch plaque, as well as a certificate of appreciation for the longest running team to participate.

Announcing Maine’s 2019 Presidential Awardees for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Teaching: John Congelosi and Robyn Graziano

The Maine Department of Education is excited to share the announcement from the White House of the 2019 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Teaching (PAEMST).

On August 3, 2020, President Donald J. Trump announced the recipients of the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST).

Awardees are selected from schools in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the United States territories which includes American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. Nominations and awards are facilitated by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the National Science Foundation.

Presidential award for K-12 teachers

Established in 1983, PAEMST is the highest award given by the U.S. Government to kindergarten through 12th grade teachers of mathematics and science, including computer science.

A panel of distinguished mathematicians, scientists, and educators at the State and National levels assess the applications before recommending nominees to OSTP. Teachers are selected based on their distinction in the classroom and dedication to improving science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education.

The announcement was held virtually this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Maine Awardees and state finalists will be recognized by the Maine Department of Education at a later date in the presence of PAEMST alumni and distinguished guests in a semi-formal event.

We are pleased to announce Maine’s 2019 PAEMST awardees:

Science (grades 7-12): John Congelosi

Mathematics (grades 7-12): Robyn Graziano

Please join us in congratulating John and Robyn!

For more information about the PAEMST program, please contact Shari Templeton, shari.templeton@maine.gov, PAEMST Science Coordinator, or Michele Mailhot, michele.mailhot@maine.gov, PAEMST Mathematics Coordinator.

Special Education Forms Update 08.01.2020

Based on the periodic review and feedback from a stakeholder group of practitioners in the field, the Maine Department of Education’s Office of Special Services has revised two of the required forms for Special Education. Specifically, the IEP form and the Optional Referral form have been revised; all vendors have been notified of these changes. Below are links to the updated forms:

A complete list of all forms is available on our website. All changes in the revised forms go into effect on August 1, 2020. Below are the detailed changes to the IEP form and the Optional Referral Form:

Section 3. Considerations C. and Ci. on page 1 were updated to include current language related to English Learners.
Section 7. Related Services on page 4, Behavioral Health Day Treatment was removed from the related services grid. Please see guidance about documenting behavioral services in section 6. Supplementary Aids, services, Modifications and/or Supports of the IEP. The guidance was jointly issued, in March of 2020, by the Maine Department of Education (MDOE) and the Maine Department of Health and Human Services’ (DHHS) Office of MaineCare Services (OMS).
Section 5. The Academic Performance description was updated to include all children in Part B, ages 3-20.
Section 5. The Functional/Development performance descriptions were updated to include all children in Part B, ages 3-20.
The Optional Referral Form, section J, Recent Academic Achievements was revised to include the grade level benchmarks for the assessments that are considered during a referral.

The updated Procedural Manual is posted on the Office of Special Services website. For more information or assistance, please call Roberta Lucas, Federal Programs Coordinator at 624-6621 or roberta.lucas@maine.gov

DOE Commissioner to Provide Briefing to Legislature

Maine Department of Education Commissioner Pender Makin will host a briefing with the legislature, on Friday, August 21, 2020 from 11 am – 12pm.

Recognizing that Maine schools are preparing for, and that some have already begun, their 2020-2021 school year, Commissioner Makin will provide an update on the innovative initiatives that the department has undertaken as part of their continued provision of resources and support for Maine schools, and answer questions.

The update will occur for one hour via Zoom. The link will be provided by respective leadership.

Others who wish to attend may reach out to Karen Kusiak, DOE Director of Legislative Affairs, at karen.kusiak@maine.gov.

Announcing Launch of MOOSE Learning Module Library!

The Maine Department of Education is excited to announce that the MOOSE (Maine Opportunity for Online Sustained Education) Learning Module Library will launch on Tuesday, September 8th, 2020.

MOOSE will provide free access to a-synchronous, interdisciplinary, project-based learning modules aligned to the Maine Learning Results for all grades, PK-12. Maine educators, curriculum leaders, and educational community organizations have worked all summer to produce these engaging and innovative learning opportunities for Maine’s students. While the platform won’t be available until September 8th, you can preview the module topics on our website.

We will continue to develop more modules throughout the year and we need Maine educators to join us! Phase II of the module creation work will begin September 8th and last until November 20th. Each participant will be trained in a-synchronous instructional design by Maine DOE digital learning specialists, as well as supported in their content by Maine DOE content specialists. Stipends of $1000 will be provided for successful completion of the project.

Participants must be Maine educators, including but not limited to curriculum leaders and Maine educational community organizations such as museums, libraries, and educational centers.

To register, click here.

For more information please contact Beth Lambert,  beth.lambert@maine.gov or Page Nichols, page.nichols@maine.gov.

Mills Administration Updates COVID-19 School Health Advisory System

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

All counties remain green in second release of color designations that reflect relative COVID-19 risk by county to assist district leaders with school planning

AUGUSTA — The Mills Administration today released an updated color coded Health Advisory System that classifies counties’ relative risk of COVID-19 transmission by color for schools as they continue with their plans to deliver instruction and support students safely this fall.

The updated assessment released today showed that Maine’s 16 counties continue to be designated “green,” with no changes from the initial launch of the system two weeks ago.

The Health Advisory System is a collaboration among the Maine Department of Education (DOE), the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), and the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC). The classifications were developed to categorize counties based on quantitative and qualitative data about COVID-19 including, but not limited to, recent data on case rates, positivity rates, and syndromic data (e.g., symptoms of influenza or COVID-19). This system categorizes counties by three-color based designations: red, yellow, and green.

The Health Advisory System categorizations are defined as follows:

RED: Categorization as “red” suggests that the county has a high risk of COVID-19 spread and that in-person instruction is not advisable.
YELLOW: Categorization as “yellow” suggests that that the county has an elevated risk of COVID-19 spread and that schools may consider additional precautions and/or hybrid instructional models as a way to reduce the number of people in schools and classrooms at any one time.
GREEN: Categorization as “green” suggests that the county has a relatively low risk of COVID-19 spread and that schools may consider in-person instruction, as long as they are able to implement the required health and safety measures.  Schools in a “green” county may need to use hybrid instruction models if there is insufficient capacity or other factors (facilities, staffing, geography/transportation, etc.) that may prevent full implementation of the health and safety requirements.

Regardless of their county’s red, yellow, or green designation, districts must also meet the Requirements for Safely Opening Schools to protect the safety and well-being of staff, students, and families. They fall into six categories:

Symptom Screenings Before Coming to School
Physical distancing and school facilities
Masks/Face Coverings
Hand Hygiene
Personal Protective Equipment
Return to School After Illness

The Health Advisory System reflects ongoing analysis of evolving data and serves as one piece of information that school and district leaders can use to make decisions about how to deliver education this fall. It will be updated at 12:00 pm every other Friday, and can be found on the Maine DOE website in Part I of the Framework for Returning to Classroom Instruction: https://www.maine.gov/doe/framework/part-I

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MEDIA RELEASE: Department of Education Fall 2020 Survey Data Released

Contact: Kelli Deveaux
August 12, 2020

Today, Maine Department of Education released the data received from over 40,000 parents, educators, and education leaders from across Maine.

On July 6, 2020 the Maine DOE released a series of surveys about the 2020 school year during COVID-19 as part of an ongoing effort to gather input from families, communities, educators, leaders, and educational stakeholders across Maine. This information was aggregated by an independent research group and reported to the DOE for consideration.

The DOE staff continue to have ongoing conversations with educational leaders, state leaders, and health experts to develop health markers and corresponding guidance to ensure the safe return to in-classroom instruction. It will also inform the technical assistance and supports that the DOE will provide to our school community members, including educators, families and students.

Recognizing that the greatest value is in the feedback gathered locally, Collaborative Planning Teams for each school unit across the state have also facilitated the critically important local conversations as to the unique variables, resources and needs within each school community; the state and county data compiled from the DOE survey will be one of many resources that will guide the processes and decision making regarding instructional models for the 2020-2021 school year.

“I am extremely grateful to the tens of thousands of individuals across Maine who took the time to fill out these surveys,” said Commissioner Pender Makin. “Their input is not only deeply appreciated, but it is critical as we further develop our guidance to schools amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and continue to have conversations with leaders across the state about education in Maine. We remain committed to providing support and leadership during these uncertain and unprecedented times.”

Survey information by group, county and question, along with initial considerations and actions, can be found on the Department of Education webpage: https://www.maine.gov/doe/fall2020survey

Coordinating SAU Re-opening Plans with Child Care

As School Administrative Units continue their efforts in constructing re-opening plans that keep the safety and well-being of students, families, and staff at the center of their decision making, one of the many critical considerations will be child care options for families, especially when schools are operating hybrid and distance-learning only models.

Availability of child care, particularly for students in PK-Grade 5, will be essential, as will coordination between SAUs and child care settings. As SAUs continue to gather input from families and shape plans, ascertaining which families have child care needs as a result of the varied school re-opening models will be particularly helpful to both schools and child care facilities.

SAUs are strongly encouraged to coordinate planning with local child care providers. Determining if adequate child care options exist for families within the SAU, as well as building contingency plans to address identified and/or anticipated need, will enable smoother transitions, especially between the various risk-status designs. Additionally, child care providers will be better able to collaborate with schools to support distance learning designs if they can be partners in the planning process (see contacts for local child care providers below).

The Maine Department of Education and Office of Child and Family Services in the Department of Health and Human Services are positioned to support SAUs in exploring child care considerations and in addressing identified child care needs. Funding provided through the ESSER funds and CRF funds may be expended to support needs related to child care and maintaining continuity of instruction as a result of COVID-19 precautions. Additionally, the Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS) can provide technical assistance to help SAUs connect with licensed child cares in their school systems, problem solve child care related issues, and explore expansion of child care availability for families. Contacts for OCFS staff who can provide assistance are listed below. Contacts from the Maine DOE’s Early Learning Team, who may also be equipped to answer related questions, are also listed. Finally, OCFS is willing to schedule a technical assistance session for Superintendents to answer questions and gather needs. If interested in this type of session, please complete this poll by August 16, 2020.

Contacts:

Office of Child and Family Services

Pattie Collins, Child Care Licensing Supervisor, Pattie.Collins@maine.gov
Jennifer Welch, Child Care Licensing Supervisor, Jennifer.S.Welch@maine.gov

Maine DOE

Nicole Madore, Early Childhood Specialist, Nicole.Madore@maine.gov
Lee Anne Larsen, Early Learning Team Coordinator, Leeann.Larsen@maine.gov

Child Care Providers: Child Care Choices website

MEDIA RELEASE: Maine DOE Student Cabinet, Governor Mills Release COVID-19 PSAs for Maine Youth

The Maine Department of Education (DOE) and the Children’s Cabinet teamed up with the Maine DOE Student Cabinet to create and launch a series of COVID-19 public service announcements (PSAs) created by Maine students for Maine students.

The youth PSAs feature members of the Maine DOE Student Cabinet in a series of videos that talk about staying healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic. The PSAs will be posted on social media throughout the remainder of the summer and into the 2020/2021 school year to help remind Maine’s youth to stay physically active and mentally healthy even while social distancing and wearing face coverings to help stop the spread of COVID-19. The PSAs can be viewed at the following links:

Governor Janet Mills has also created a special video for Maine’s youth acknowledging how much they have sacrificed during the COVID-19 pandemic in addition to thanking them for their efforts and emphasizing the importance of their resilience moving forward.

“I want to thank you for the role you are playing in keeping our state safe and healthy,” said Governor Mills in the video. “This is a challenging time for everyone all across the country, but especially for you.” View Governor Mills’ full video message below.

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