Category: News & Views

New deadline for changes in documenting medical services in Individualized Educational Plans (IEPs)

On April 14, 2018, the Department issued guidance regarding a change in IEP requirements in Administrative Letter #13. The purpose of the change is to document educationally and medically necessary services on the IEP aligning to Section 65 and Section 28 of the MaineCare Benefits Manual.

On May 1, 2018, the Department issued a priority notice putting in effect a 1-month hold (until June 1, 2018) on the implementation, in order to resolve some questions on IEP document wording. After further review, it has been concluded that an extended delay in implementation is needed.  The Department expects the new procedures and forms to be clarified soon. The Department will announce the new effective date and clarified language as soon as possible.

For more information, contact the Department of Education’s Office of Special Services at (207) 624 -6713.

School funding update: Department will distribute funding amounts in 18/19 ED 279s until legislature acts

Included in the bills that have not yet been acted upon by the 128th legislature in the 2018 legislative session, there was an appropriations bill LD 1869 that, among other things, finalized specific figures used for calculating school funding in the Essential Programs and Services (EPS) formula, the formula used to distribute funds to districts throughout the State.

If the legislature does not reconvene and act upon school funding appropriations by July 1, 2018 (start of the next fiscal year), the Department will distribute subsidy amounts estimated in the 2018/19 ED 279 subsidy print-outs until the legislature acts.

To view the 2018/19 ED 279 subsidy print-outs visit: http://www.maine.gov/doe/eps/

Districts that have questions regarding subsidy print-outs can contact the School Finance Team: Tyler Backus at tyler.backus@maine.gov; Paula Gravelle at paula.b.gravelle@maine.gov; or Ida Batista at ida.batista@maine.gov.

School Nurse of the Year Nominations

This past week the Maine Department of Education celebrated National Nurses Week by hosting school nurses for National School Nurse Day at the Blaine House for tea where the Department and Maine Association of School Nurses honored our current School Nurse of the Year, Ann Bouchard.

Please consider honoring a deserving colleague by putting in a nomination for the 2018-2019 School Nurse of the Year.

This title provides recognition to an individual who demonstrates leadership in 6 areas of their practice: Care provision, program management, health education, professional development, community involvement, and research.

Please take this opportunity to showcase your School Nurse’s accomplishments and nominate! The individual selected will receive a $500 cash award and be recognized at the Maine Association of School Nurses Summer Institute, the Blaine House Tea and at the National Association of School Nurse annual conference.

We are accepting applications now. Below you can find the nomination form and the information necessary to begin this process:

The application deadline is June 1st (please disregard the erroneous date on the forms).

For further information contact Maine DOE School Nurse Consultant, Emily Poland at emily.poland@maine.gov or (207) 624-6688.

 

Nominations being accepted for 2018 MAHPERD Teachers of the Year

Nominations are being accepted for the 2018 Maine Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (MAHPERD) Teachers of the Year awards.

Maine educators in the following categories are eligible for consideration: Elementary Physical Education Teacher, Middle Level Physical Education Teacher, Secondary Physical Education Teacher, Adapted Physical Education Teacher, Health Education Teacher (All levels), Recreation Teacher/Leader, and Dance Teacher. There are many deserving teachers throughout the State of Maine and MAHPERD would like to be able to recognize more of those individuals.

Click here for more information regarding eligibility, nomination criteria and to access the application.

Nominations are due by June 30 and completed applications are due by August 21. For more information contact Kristen Allen at kallen@rsu10.org, MAHPERD Awards chairperson, before June 30.

Summer professional development opportunities for social studies teachers

This summer the Maine Department of Education is hosting three different professional development opportunities for social studies teachers including sessions specific to elementary teachers. The eleven dates range from June to August in five locations around the state to give everyone a chance to join us!

See below for more information or to register. Contact the DOE Social Studies Specialist Joe Schmidt (joe.schmidt@maine.gov) with any questions.

Summer Symposium:

A group of teachers have been working with me throughout this school year to learn more about best practices in social studies and how to incorporate those practices into their classrooms. These teachers have completed their last session and some are looking to provide FREE regional professional development opportunities to share their learning and experiences. With teachers from Portland to the County, there is the potential for a training to take place near you!

  • The Dover-Foxcroft Symposium will take place from 8:30am-12:00pm at SeDoMoCha Middle School on Friday, June 29th. Click HERE to register.
  • The Poland Summer Symposium will take place from 8:30am-12:00pm at Bruce M. Whittier Middle School on Friday, August 17th. Click HERE to register.

Forum 2017: Inquiry – LAST CALL!

For those that were unable to attend Forum 2017: Inquiry last summer, I am going to hold one last FREE session before moving on to Forum 2018: Disciplinary Literacy (see below). Forum 2017: Inquiry LAST CALL will take place in Augusta at the Cross Building on June 28th from 9am to 4:00pm. Click HERE to register. Participants will have the opportunity to win door prizes!

Forum 2018: Disciplinary Literacy

Are you interested in learning more about DISCIPLINARY LITERACY in the social studies classroom? Join the Maine DOE Social Studies Forum 2018 in August with sessions in Augusta, Bangor, Portland, and Presque Isle. Each location will have one day focused on pK-6 Elementary teachers and one day focused on 6-12 Secondary teachers.

*NOTE* You will only need to attend one session as the elementary/secondary sessions are not sequential and the four locations will have the same training.

This FREE workshop will walk teachers through current research about disciplinary literacy in social studies, provide resources to examine current practices, and provide time and support for the creation of your own unit that can be used in the upcoming school year. Teachers are encouraged to bring members of your department/district and use the day to update current units of instruction with research based best practices. See below for locations and dates and click HERE to register. Participants will have the opportunity to win door prizes!

  • Presque Isle/UMPI – 8/6-8/7
  • Portland/Maine Historical Society – 8/14-8/15
  • Augusta/Cross Building – 8/21-8/22
  • Orono/UMO – 8/28-8/29

For more information or questions contact, Joe Schmidt,  Social Studies Specialist for the Maine Department of Education at (207) 624-6828 or joe.schmidt@maine.gov

 

MEDIA ADVISORY: Maine Farm to School Cook-off final is today at KVCC

What:
2018 Maine Farm to School Cook-Off final. Read more about the Maine Department of Education’s annual Maine Farm to school Cook-off.

Who:
School food service staff and students creating breakfast and lunch meal. The winning teams from the two regional cook-off’s held in April will compete in the final cook-off.
Judges for the regional cook-offs include a student, a school nutrition director and a professional chef.

Where/When: 
Monday, May 14
Kennebec Valley Community College
Harold Alfond Campus, Averill Building, Hinckley, ME (campus map)
1:00pm start time (cooking begins promptly at 1:30pm)
Teams are representing RSU 54 and Yarmouth Public Schools

How:
Each volunteer team, consisting of one school food service staff and one student, will prepare a breakfast and lunch meal within a specific time frame using at least two ingredients that are grown, raised, caught, or manufactured in the State of Maine and meet National School Breakfast and Lunch Program requirements as well as one USDA food. Locally caught pollock and yogurt will be used as “challenge” ingredients in the competition.

Members of the media are welcome to attend the competition for further questions contact, Director of Communications Rachel Paling at rachel.paling@maine.gov or call 624-6747.

The Maine Event: Fostering Equity and Justice for Youth conference, June 28-29 in Bangor

The Positive Youth Development Institute and the Collaboration for Perpetual Innovation has a premiere staff development opportunity for educators, youth serving professionals, and volunteers.

This locally organized, national conference will address education equity and justice issues paramount to adults and students. Presentations will focus on student voice and choice, new approaches to discipline, and school-wide practices of inclusion for all students. The content will be linked school climate, bullying prevention, discipline disparities, and requirements of the Every Student Succeeds Act.

Keynote presenters will be Shakti Butler, PhD, President and Founder of World Trust Educational Services, Inc.; Michael D. Clark, MSW, Director of the Center for Strength-Based Strategies; and the cast of Maine Inside Out, in their performance, Love is Alternatives to Incarceration.

In addition, full-day training opportunities are available on June 27, including:

  • Youth Mental Health First Aid (NAMI: Maine)
  • Nurturing Social Trust Through Meaningful Dialogue (Cindy Carraway-Wilson, Youth Catalytics)
  • Building Trauma-Sensitive Schools (Kathleen Guarino, American Institutes for Research)
  • Programs that Matter: Positive Outcomes Through Proven Practices (Margaret Jones, Maine Afterschool Network & Bolster Collaborative)

A discount provided by PYDI-CPI is available for teams of five or more from the same school district.

For more information about The Maine Event: Fostering Equity and Justice for Youth, visit the conference website here.

For questions related to the conference, contact Donna Duffey, Conference Manager at 800-294-4322 or duffey.donna47@gmail.com, or Sarah Ricker, Maine DOE Student Assistance Coordinator at sarah.ricker@maine.gov or 207-624-6685.

Looking for Educator Leaders who are “Designing for Learning with Technology”

The Learning Through Technology team at the Department of Education is looking for educator leaders! The theme for next year is: “Designing for Learning with Technology.” We want educators to learn from other educators and to build a network of educators who can leverage technology to get to better learning outcomes for all students.

There are a variety of different opportunities to lead: online learning facilitators; leaders of learning labs, dine and designs, and regional events; and creators of digital artifacts (blogs, short videos, webinars, etc.). More information about each position, stipends, and contact hours can be found here: http://maine.gov/doe/mlti/educatorleadership/index.html

Applications are due June 4th by 12:00pm and can be found here: http://maine.gov/doe/mlti/educatorleadership/index.html

A webinar will be available to go over these opportunities and answer any questions folks might have as they complete applications:

Thursday, May 17th, from 3:30-4:30pm

The Department is looking for a wide-variety of educators to be leaders from:

  • regions across the state
  • all different content areas
  • all different grade levels.

We would like representation from each of the different educator roles – for example:

  • administrators
  • teachers
  • librarians
  • technology integrators

The Department would like to hear from educators who have:

  • created environments where innovative teaching and learning can thrive,
  • leveraged technology to make sure all students can participate in the learning to their fullest potential
  • shown the generosity of spirit to share their work with others
  • inspired others as they design learning opportunities for their own students.

Please share this opportunity with other educators!

For further information or questions, please reach out to Amanda.Nguyen@maine.gov

LTT Educator Leader Poster v.5

MEDIA RELEASE: 2018 County Teachers of the Year honored

Teachers from each of Maine’s 16 counties were today honored in Augusta’s State Capitol at an annual event in the Hall of Flags announcing the 2018 Maine County Teachers of the Year. The group is the county finalists for Maine Teacher of the Year, an honor awarded each year to one teacher in Maine.

The educators were each 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.

2018 County Teachers of the Year:

Androscoggin: Katie Toothaker, Minot Consolidated School

Aroostook: William “Bill” Guerrette, Presque Isle Middle School

Cumberland: Connie Russell, Mabel I. Wilson School

Franklin: Jessica Ellingwood, Spruce Mountain High School

Hancock: Jennifer Farnham, Hancock Grammar School

Kennebec: Katy Jones, Winslow Junior High School

Knox: Anthony Lufkin, Friendship Village School, Prescott Memorial School, Union Elementary

Lincoln: Daniel Hupp, Great Salt Bay Community School

Oxford: Jessica McGreevy, Oxford Hills Middle School

Penobscot: Shana Goodall, Orono High School

Piscataquis: Joseph Hennessey, Piscataquis Community High School

Sagadahoc: Christine Del Rossi, Mt. Ararat High School

Somerset: Patti Champagne, Bloomfield Elementary

Waldo: David Coffey, Belfast Area High School and Troy Howard Middle School

Washington: Kailee Colbeth, Washington Academy

York: Kristin Klin, Bonny Eagle Middle School

As ambassadors for teachers, students, and quality education in Maine, these teachers will continue to participate in the intensive State Teacher of the Year selection process, including the submission of a video showcasing their classroom instructional practices.

The field will be narrowed to eight semi-finalists who will begin working on their professional portfolio, a component of the National Teacher of the Year process. After the portfolio review and presentations to a select panel, the field is narrowed to three finalists. In October, the 2018 Maine Teacher of the Year will be selected after a school site visit and final interview.

The Maine Teacher of the Year is a program of the Maine Department of Education, administered by Educate Maine, a business-led organization working to ensure Maine’s students and workers are the best educated and highly skilled in the world.

For more information, visit www.maine.gov/doe/toy/ or contact Maine DOE Director of Communications, Rachel Paling at rachel.paling@maine.gov or call 624-6747.

The new certification system’s district portal is now open to all districts

The district portal of the Maine Department of Education’s new certification system is now open to all districts in Maine. 341 district superintendents and heads of programs have been emailed with log-in credentials and instructions, and Department staff are finishing up phone calls to each district office.

Currently, 175 accounts have been created and 26 districts are currently recommending their teachers up for renewal. 877 teacher recommendations have been made thus far.

In this phase of the launch, district staff have the chance to log in to the new system, become familiar with functions, and complete recommendations for teachers in their district before the educator portal opens for educators.

District staff have reported the system is easy to use and that Department staff have been quick to answer questions and fix issues that arise.

In the next phase of the launch, the educator portal will open to educators by district in the same manner as the district portal.

Further notifications and updates will be forthcoming in the Maine DOE Newsroom.