MEDIA RELEASE: Dover-Foxcroft elementary school music teacher named Maine 2018 Teacher of the Year

For Immediate Release
Wednesday, October 4, 2017

Media Contacts:
Dolly Sullivan – Educate Maine, 207-631-3385
Rachel Paling – Maine DOE Director of Communications, 207-624-6747

DOVER-FOXCROFT – In a surprise all-school assembly today at SeDoMoCha Elementary School, Maine Department of Education Commissioner Robert G. Hasson, Jr. named SeDoMoCha Elementary music teacher Kaitlin Young as Maine’s 2018 Teacher of the Year.

Selected earlier this year as the 2017 Piscataquis County Teacher of the Year, Young began her teaching career in 2010 at SeDoMoCha Elementary School in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine. For the last seven years she has held a variety of music education positions within the district teaching students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. Currently she teaches general music to students in pre-kindergarten through fourth grade and choral music to students in fifth through eighth grade.

“Kaitlin’s integrated teaching style and dedication to bring a love of music and the arts to her students as well as their families, and the community that surrounds her makes her a true leader among her peers and an inspiration to us all,” said Maine Department of Education Commissioner Robert G. Hasson, Jr.

Beyond the RSU #68 school district, Young has worked with the Center Theatre as a music director for several student and adult musical productions. She also participates in several community music ensembles including a contemporary a cappella group and a steel pan band.

Young is a member of several professional organizations including the Maine Education Association, National Association for Music Educators, and the American Choral Directors Association. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from The University of Maine at Orono with a Bachelors of Music in Music Education in 2010. Young completed her Master’s Degree in Music Education with a concentration in Kodaly Pedagogy at The Hartt School in Hartford, CT in 2017.

As the 2018 Maine Teacher of the Year, Mrs. Young will travel throughout the state and country collaborating with other educators to support the efforts underway to prepare all students for college, work and civic life. She is Maine’s representative in the National Teacher of the Year program which includes a national forum with other state winners, a week at a NASA Space Camp and a visit to the White House.

The Maine Teacher of the Year program is administered by Educate Maine, a business-led advocacy organization, in partnership with the Maine Department of Education and the Maine State Board of Education. Funding for the program is generously provided by Bangor Savings Bank, Dead River, Geiger, and Hannaford.

For more information about the Maine Teacher of the Year program, visit www.mainetoy.org. For more information about Educate Maine, visit http://www.educatemaine.org.

Upcoming DOE sponsored assessment workshops

The Maine DOE is sponsoring a series of four workshops for the MEA Alternate Mathematics and ELA/Literacy (MSAA) and the MEA Alternate Science (PAAP) assessments.

These workshops will be held:

Tuesday, November 15^th in Presque Isle at the Hampton Inn
Wednesday, November 16^th in Bangor at the Black Bear Inn
Thursday, November 17^th in Auburn at the Hilton Inn
Friday, November 18^th in Portland at the Clarion Hotel

Session One – 8:30 to 12:00 – MSAA

This session is open to all teachers responsible for planning and implementing the MSAA assessment. It will include an overview of the MSAA System, the new stage adaptive design, important documents, training requirements and student eligibility. The MSAA assessment is required to be administered to eligible students in grades 3-8, and 3rd year high school for ELA/literacy and Mathematics.

Session Two – 1:00 to 4:00

This session is open to all teachers new to the PAAP portfolio process and those needing a brush up with the Profile process. This workshop will provide a step by step overview of the handbook, show how to submit a portfolio electronically, and help you decide which tasks to choose for students in grades 5, 8, and 3^rd year high school participating in the alternate science portfolio assessment.

Please register at: http://iregister.measuredprogress.org/. Registration will close November 6^th. Please contact Sue Nay at 624-6774 or sue.nay@maine.gov with questions.

Maine DOE Partners with TransACT to provide schools with resource to promote student achievement through Family Engagement

To help with new Parent and Family Engagement requirements under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and to meet the civil rights obligations of schools in working with English Learners’ (EL) families across the state of Maine, the Maine Department of Education (DOE) is partnering with TransACT® Parent Notices to provide unlimited remote access to parent friendly notifications that meet legal requirements, guidance on required audiences, a compliance tracking system, and recommended timelines.

TransACT Parent Notices is an online subscription service that has provided State Departments of Education and local education agencies with federally compliant parent notifications in multiple languages for over 20 years. Providing this service across the state reduces the amount of time and money that individual schools or districts need to spend creating, reviewing and translating the same federally required documents repeatedly. “By partnering with TransACT to provide cost-effective compliance resources, the Maine Department of Education is helping educators save time and money on effective communications with families and services for students”, says Director of ESEA Federal Programs, Janette Kirk.

All documents are available to download and printable onto school letterhead. The collection includes, but is not limited to:

Parent and Family Engagement;
Teacher and Paraprofessional Qualifications;
School Support and Improvement;
English Learner Programs;
21^st Century Community Learning Centers; and
Foster Care.

In addition to English, the forms are professionally translated into the following languages, which will be available fully within the next several months: Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Haitian-Creole, Russian, Vietnamese, Somali, and French.

TransACT will be providing schools with professional development and training including online live help, support over the phone, email support, webinar trainings and three (2) in person trainings being held Nov. 2 in Lewiston at Green Ladle and Nov. 3 in Brewer at Jeff’s Catering.

Use this online form to register.

If you have additional questions, please contact Janette Kirk at Janette.kirk@maine.gov or (207) 624-6707.

Schools across Maine celebrate Maine Harvest Lunch Week

Picking Carrots at the greenhouse in Trenton, Maine

Maine Baked Fish Vera Cruz, meatloaf made with locally raised beef and school garden grown rainbow carrots were “on the menu” for schools across Maine who celebrated Maine Harvest Lunch Week. Each year this Maine DOE sponsored event designates one week in September to educate students on where their food comes from by serving up Maine grown foods on the menu and promoting Farm to School in the wider school community. This year the celebrations took place the week of September 18-22, 2017, and while most schools participate on the selected week, other schools chose to highlight Maine grown foods on a week of their choice.

Events from southern to coastal Maine took place with a different Farm to School focus. At RSU 21, the focus was on getting students in the kitchen and serving up some local Maine fare. Kindergarten students at Kennebunkport Consolidated School got some hands-on experience shucking local corn and preparing fresh Maine kale in the school kitchen. At Kennebunk High School a delicious local lunch featured fish, broccoli and corn on the cob. Middle school offerings included slider sloppy Joe’s made with local beef and oven baked local red potatoes.

At Trenton Elementary School, their Food Corps Service member worked with the school nutrition program to incorporate produce from their own school garden and greenhouse into school meals. Second graders got their hands dirty harvesting rainbow carrots, which were offered on the lunchtime salad bar. Sixth graders used their muscles to harvest 55 pounds of zucchini, which was used to make fresh, homemade zucchini muffins! A “harvest of the month” taste test also took place where the entire school sampled school greenhouse grown spaghetti squash with a side of marinara sauce, yum yum! A Maine map of farms who contributed local produce during the week was displayed in the cafeteria to connect students to where their food came from. Food Corps service member, Nicole Gurreri, remarks “Harvest Lunch Week has been a perfect kick off to a year of farm to school activities!”. The school plans on harvesting spinach, kale, Chinese cabbage and other crops from their school greenhouse throughout the winter months.

RSU 3, based out of Unity, planned a week of harvest lunches district wide but also wanted to involve parents and community members in their Harvest Day Celebration. Hundreds of family

Friends and Family Enjoy the Harvest at RSU 3.

members joined their elementary students for a harvest lunch meal at the Mt. View Complex in Thorndike. The menu featured meatloaf made with local beef raised in pastures across the street from the Mt. View school campus, as well as local red potatoes, apples, and Maine wild blueberry crisp. You can’t get more local than that! The cafeteria featured harvest décor, including posters and other decorations proudly made by Mt. View Elementary students.

Maine Harvest Lunch Week is celebrated district-wide at RSU 17 each year; however this year a new resource was introduced to encourage families to

Ms. Gloria Serving locally sourced meatloaf with a smile! -RSU 3

eat local foods well beyond the one week celebration. The “Western Foothills Harvest Map” shows a map of the surrounding area featuring farms and markets where parents and students can visit and experience local food. Members from Healthy Oxford Hills introduced the map in classrooms while using the “Maine Foods for Maine Kids” curriculum. This partnership between Healthy Oxford Hills and RSU 17 resulted in creating the harvest map for families to use. They hope that parents and students will discover, explore, learn, meet and eat fresh local foods from farms and markets in the community. A link to the harvest map can be found here.

Lot’s of Color and Yummy Options. -RSU 3

Maine Harvest Lunch Week is a celebration of local foods that many school districts across Maine take part in. Although it is only designated one week out of the school year, it is a jump start for more Farm to School activities to take place throughout the year. For more information on Maine Harvest Lunch Week please contact Stephanie Stambach, Child Nutrition Consultant at the Maine DOE at stephanie.stambach@maine.gov or 624-6732.

U.S. EPA 2017 School Bus Rebate Program now accepting applications

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is offering an opportunity to receive up to $20,000 per vehicle to replace your older school buses, and up to $6,000 per vehicle for retrofits. Older school buses without emission reduction retrofits emit significant amounts of harmful exhaust, so participating in this program will help improve the health of students and other members of your community.

The 2017 School Bus Rebate Program is now open and applications will be accepted until November 14, 2017 at 4:00 p.m. ET. Please visit www.epa.gov/cleandiesel/clean-diesel-rebates for the Program Guide with all the details as well as FAQs and the application form.

Eligible Entities

Regional, state, or tribal agencies including school districts and municipalities, or
Private entities that operate school buses under a contract with an entity listed above

Important Dates

September 28, 2017	Application period opens
October 5, 2017, 2-3 p.m. ET	Webinar for applicants: Link to Webinar Call-In Number: 866-299-3188 Access Code: 20 2343 9571
November 14, 2017, 4 pm ET	Application period closes
January 2018 (estimated)	EPA posts selectees and waiting list online. Official selection letters emailed to selectees
April 2018 (estimated)	Purchase order submission deadline for replacement buses and retrofits
September 2018 (estimated)	Deadline for submitting payment documentation demonstrating installation of retrofits, delivery of replacement buses, and scrappage of old buses.
Within one month after receipt of payment documentation	Selectees will receive their rebate payment

If you have questions, please contact CleanDiesel@epa.gov or Pat Hinckley, Maine DOE Transportation and Facilities Specialist at Pat.Hinckley@maine.gov.

PRIORITY NOTICE: Arts education participation and access data needed

The Maine Department of Education is committed to supporting access to, and participation in the arts as part of Maine students’ well-rounded education. In order to provide a view of trends, challenges, and successes in PreK-12th grade arts education, the department is asking school districts to submit student participation and access data for the 2016-2017 school year. School level data that includes courses and enrollment numbers forms the basis of the data collection. Student names, personal information, and unique student identities are not included in this collection.

The Maine DOE will be reviewing and analyzing this arts education data, conduct in-depth analysis of the information, and align instructional practices and resources to support engaging arts experiences for learners. Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, collecting this data will make Maine eligible to apply for arts education grants, resources, and additional supports.

Superintendents should submit their data via the following link: https://mainedoe.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_7QyhoMK8B3GhKRf

Preview a sample of the questions in the survey (PDF) »

For further information contact Beth Lambert, Maine DOE Visual and Performing Arts Specialist at beth.lambert@maine.gov.

PRIORITY NOTICE: Regional Service Center application and guidance now available

The Maine Department of Education is pleased to announce that guidance documents, applications and forms for Regional Service Centers are now available on the EMBRACE Regionalization Information Center located on the Maine Department of Education Website.

In a two part application process for Regional Service Centers, pursuant to 20-A M.R.S. Chapter 123: School Management and Leadership Centers (SMLC), part one of the application process is due on November 30, 2017. Facilitators are now available, along with an allocation of funds to hire them and cover some of the legal fees that may incur during preliminary work.

Resources now available on the EMBRACE Regionalization Information Center:

Regional Service Center Application Timeline
Chapter 123 At A Glance
Guidance on Regional Service Centers
Regional Service Center Application Part I
Regional Service Center Application Part II
Facilitator Request Form
Roster of Approved Facilitators

In a recent Maine DOE news article, educational stakeholders were notified that these resources were forthcoming as the Department continues to support Maine schools during the process of planning and developing regionalization project proposals under the EMBRACE initiative.

In addition to the formation of Regional Service Centers, the Fund for the Efficient Delivery of Educational Services (FEDES) Request for Proposal (RFP # 201708145) is an additional ongoing opportunity and can also serve as a resource to help in the formation of a Regional Service Center.

For more information contact Maine DOE’s Regionalization Project Manager, Jennifer Pooler at jennifer.g.pooler@maine.gov.

PRIORITY NOTICE: New certification system set to open for pilot schools and admins on 10/30

The Maine DOE’s new online certification system, Maine Certification Information System (MCIS), is scheduled for a soft release to staff and educators at pilot schools, and will be available to administrators, and local support system chair people statewide on Monday, October 30th. MCIS is targeted to be available to all educators and the general public by mid-November.

MCIS will completely replace the Maine DOE’s current paper certification application system. Highlights include a simple account creation process, electronic notifications about actionable items for both educators and administrators, and the ability to pay fees online.

The certification office will be closed to educators from 10/16/2017 – 10/27/2017. The office will re-open on Monday, October 30^th with MCIS fully operational for all staff at pilot schools, and to administrators, and local support system chair people statewide.

As a reminder, once MCIS is in place, educators and administrators will need to create an account in order to use the system. The Maine DOE’s Certification team will be sending out individual notices to the email addresses that are on file in the NEO staff system to initiate this process. Additional training and guidance will be forthcoming.

For more information contact Ángel Martínez Loredo at 207-624-6603 or email cert.doe@maine.gov.

Additional support for regionalization now available

Earlier this week seven educators participated in the Maine DOE’s orientation and training session to become approved facilitators and consultants for the Department’s EMBRACE regionalization initiatives. The Department is providing regional groups of school administrative units (SAUs) with up to $7,500 in funding for facilitation services delivered by individuals who have met these training expectations.

The facilitators are available by request to provide technical assistance and guidance to regional groups of SAUs during the process of planning and developing regionalization project proposals under the Fund for the Efficient Delivery of Educational Services (FEDES) Request for Proposal (RFP # 201708145) or to plan the formation of a Regional Service Center, pursuant to MRSA Title 20-A, chapter 123: School Management and Leadership Centers.

The roster of approved facilitators can be found on the EMBRACE Regionalization Information Center. You may request a facilitator by contacting Maine DOE’s Regionalization Project Manager, Jennifer Pooler at jennifer.g.pooler@maine.gov.

Also in support of the EMBRACE initiatives, the Department hosted an online/telephone Informational Session on the FEDES RFP this week. More than 50 participants asked a wide range of questions during the 45-minute session. Those questions and our responses are being transcribed and will be available early next week on the State of Maine’s Division of Purchases website. You may also download the FEDES RFP (# 201708145) from that website.

The Department is anticipating the release of the Regional Service Center Application Part I, Application Part II, and the accompanying Guidance document by early next week. School district administrators will be notified by Priority Notice when these resources are available.

Initial Audit Report to the Commissioner Due November 1st

Statements of assurance and the Maine Education Financial Systems (MEFS) Financial reconciliations, as required by Title 20-A MRSA 6051 §4, are due by November 1^st. Any adjustments identified by these reconciliations should be submitted to Maine Education Financial System by November 30^th.

Annual audits are due December 30, 2017

The Department requests all annual audits, requests, and correspondence be submitted electronically by email to DOE.Audit@Maine.gov or by the direct link on the audit website www.maine.gov/education/audit.

20-A MRSA §6051 (6) states that annual audit reports are due within six months after the end of the audit period; e.g., reports for the fiscal year ending June 30 are due on or before December 30.

Per 20-A MRSA §6051 (1-K), Maine DOE must receive a SEFA (Schedule of Expenditure of Federal Awards), which includes federal award expenditures for all reporting entities, regardless if an A-133 audit is not required to be conducted. The SEFA provides information needed by MDOE to conduct sub-recipient monitoring as required by US DOE and is due at the time of the annual audit. In municipal school units where a combined audit is not conducted, this means that MDOE receives a SEFA for the School Department and the city/town.

If a management letter is prepared by the auditor, a copy should be submitted to MDOE with the annual audit as this letter provides MDOE with information needed to conduct sub-recipient monitoring as required by US DOE. Authority to request this is provided to MDOE under 20-A MRSA §6051 (1-F).

20-A MRSA §6051 (1) states that it is the school board’s responsibility to submit the audit unless it is included in the engagement letter that the audit firm will submit the audit to the Department on behalf of the school board.

The auditor shall review the audit with the school board as required under 20-A MRSA §6051 (3).

It is the Superintendents responsibility to request extensions/exceptions. The forms are available online at www.maine.gov/education/audit.

Town Reports from Municipalities are not required, and are kindly requested, to withhold from submitting to the Department. The municipal annual report cannot be accepted in lieu of the complete municipal annual audit. Municipal school units are required to submit either a combined annual audit or a school department audit and a municipal audit to the Department

State and Federal Requirements:

State Requirements

20-A MRSA §6051
Title 20-a: education, part 3: elementary and secondary education, Chapter 221: school records, audits and reports, Subchapter 2: audits

Federal Requirements

2 CFR 200.501 Audit Requirements

(a) Audit required. A non-Federal entity that expends $750,000 or more during the non-Federal entity’s fiscal year in Federal awards must have a single or program-specific audit conducted for that year in accordance with the provisions of this Part.

For more information please contact Stephanie J. Clark Fiscal Compliance Associate School Finance & Operations for the Department of Education at 207-624-6807 or Stephanie.Clark@maine.gov.