Category: News & Views

Infinite Campus Data Entry for the 2016/2017 School Year Closes June 30, 2017

Any data modifications needed to all student enrollments for the 2016/17 school year must be completed by 5:00 pm on June 30, 2017.  Modifications can not be made after this date as Infinite Campus will no longer be used.

Exit Data for Students

The Infinite Campus State Edition Student Information System will be closing for the 2016/17 school year on June 30, 2017. Updates of student enrollment data for year-end reporting must be made by school units for the current reporting year before Infinite Campus State Edition is closed.

Homeless status in Infinite Campus:
Students who were homeless at any time during the current school year must have the “Homeless Night-time Residence ” field filled in on the Enrollments tab in Infinite Campus. Do not remove the homeless status in this field until the following school year, even if the student was homeless for only a short time during the year.

Importance of Exiting Students at the end of the school year:
The Department’s calculation of your school unit’s graduation and dropout rates for the current school year will be based on student enrollment data in ICSE.  To ensure a successful and timely transmission of data, and therefore accurate graduation and dropout reporting, it is important that school units take the following steps before Infinite Campus is closed:

  1. Check the Start Statuses for the current school year for students in grades 9 through 12. If a student was with you in 2015/16 and 2016/17, be sure the start status for the 2016/17 enrollment record is a code 02 (continuous in same school). Otherwise a Transfer-In could be added if the wrong start status was selected thereby hurting your graduation rate. We hope to have a new report added in ICSE which displays students with incorrect start statuses. More information on this as it becomes available.
  2. Exit all students who are known to be leaving their schools at the end of the current school year. This is especially important for students in grades seven (7) through twelve (12), in order to avoid issues related to the Dropouts report.
  3. For Home School students – exit all home school students who are currently enrolled as home-schooled with Exit Code 13 – Transfer to home schooling. If they return in the fall, use the appropriate Start Status to transfer in from Home School.
  4. Foreign exchange students should be exited with a code 10: Transfer to a school outside of the country.
  5. All students that were expelled during the year must be exited with a code 19. In addition, all students with this exit code must also have an entry of the expulsion in the Behavior Module of Infinite Campus State Edition.
  6. Exit high school seniors using the appropriate exit type codes including:
    • Graduated with Regular High School Diploma
      (Exit Code 15 – Completed – Graduated);
    • Students who receive an Adult Ed Diploma or High School Equivalency diploma should be exited with code 23.
    • Reached Maximum Age for Services
      (Exit Code 20 – Maximum Age for Services);

      1. Students who turn 20 years of age on or before July 1, 2017 must be exited with Exit Code 20.

NOTE: Maine Virtual Academy and Maine Connections Academy are two approved Public Charter Schools. Students that transfer to one of these schools must be exited with a code 12 – Transfer to a public charter school. Do not use exit code 26 in these two scenarios.

  1. For high school seniors who will be completing their graduation requirements during the summer and after Infinite Campus State Edition is closed, you will be able to fix these enrollments directly in NEO Graduation module later this summer.

Examples of appropriate exit type codes can be found on the MEDMS website at:
http://www.maine.gov/education/medms/Data/ExitType/ExitTypeCodes.htm

Questions specific to enrollments should be directed to the MEDMS Helpdesk at:
MEDMS.Helpdesk@maine.gov or 207-624-6896.

Fostering Artful Classrooms for Early Childhood Students a Great Success

Five school districts participated in a professional development pilot from the Maine Department of Education this year to learn how to improve visual art offerings to public preschool students. Visual art and early childhood teachers from RSU 10, Lewiston School District, Glenburn School Department, MSAD 58 (Phillips), and MSAD 53 (Pittsfield) attended in teams for training three times during the 2016-2017 schoolyear. Guided during these session by early childhood expert, Terri Petnov, and early childhood arts specialist, Judy Fricke, teachers built collaborative partnerships as they broadened their skills in 2-D, 3-D, and Fiber Arts, as well as developmentally appropriate teaching for preschoolers. Both teachers learned strategies to be used in both in the early childhood classroom and the art room. This program was sponsored by Early Childhood Specialist, Sue Reed, and Visual and Performing Arts Specialist, Beth Lambert.

The training was aligned to Maine’s Early Learning and Development Standards and supported by research on the importance of art education being available every day in the early childhood classroom. Over the course of the three workshop days, teams learned a variety of visual art techniques and became more comfortable integrating art education into the other learning domains to support knowledge and development.

Here are some of the comments teachers had at the end of the experience:

“Children have become more engaged and have developed stamina to create and finish a project. It has created a calming effect on my room,” Lori Fowler, Preschool Teacher, Montello Elementary School.

“The collaboration and teamwork I now have with my art teacher has brought about valuable changes in my planning and instruction awareness of how the arts can connect and strengthen student learning opportunities,” Vicky Grotton, Preschool Teacher, Glenburn Elementary School.

“The value of this training, for me, was in learning the true and genuine connection between the arts and achievement across the curriculum. The foundation of learning and whole-student enrichment are clearest in prek, but persist throughout the entire academic career,” Adam Masterman, Art Teacher, SAD 58.

“(The prek teacher and I) have worked together to create a new space in her classroom where students are completely independent and encourage exploring materials…. I have gone into their classroom and taught lessons and group projects that would not be possible in my space,“  Karen Thayer, Art Teacher, RSU 10.

Due to the tremendous success of this pilot, the Maine Department of Education is exploring funding options to expand this training statewide during the 2017-2018 schoolyear as well as develop and offer music and performing arts in the early childhood classroom training.

For more information on this pilot you can visit our website http://www.maine.gov/doe/arts/ecevpa.html.

For more information on Early Childhood Education contact, Sue Reed, susan.d.reed@maine.gov . For more information about Visual and Performing Arts Education, contact, Beth Lambert, beth.lambert@maine.gov.

PRIORITY NOTICE: Deadline for Small, Rural School Achievement funding is June 30th

This is an urgent reminder for those districts that are eligible to receive Small, Rural School Achievement (SRSA) funding.  Please note that June 30, 2017 is the final date to submit your grant application.  Your FY 2017 Small, Rural School Achievement (SRSA) grant application must be completely entered in Grants.gov by 4:30 p.m. in order to receive funding for 2017-18. In past years this money had been automatically set aside for you and because of the changes with ESSA, now you must complete the application annually.

To complete the application, your district must have a DUNS number that is active and registered in the System for Award Management, and you must register in https://www.grants.gov as an “Organization Applicant.” Additional details about the application process and requirements are available on the USDOE SRSA website’s Applicant Information page.

If you have not yet submitted your application, please do so as soon as possible before June 30. If you need assistance completing the application, consider attending one of the ongoing SRSA application walk-through web seminars sponsored by USDOE on the following dates:

For additional information, please contact Dan Weeks at Daniel.R.Weeks@maine.gov or 207-624-6749.

New Online Certification System Training for Superintendents and Support Chairs

The Maine Department of Education (DOE) will be offering training sessions for superintendents and support system chairs to learn the new online certification system this spring and summer (online training for educators will also be available later this summer).

At each training session participants can expect to learn how to log in, navigate the system, approve educator certifications, and manage their own certification. Participants will need to bring a lap top.

Training dates, times and locations are as follows:

June 19, 2017
8:30am – 12:00pm
University of Maine at Augusta, Jewett Hall, RM 190

June 20, 2017
1:00pm – 4:30pm
University of Maine at Augusta, Jewett Hall, RM 190

July 26, 2017
8:30am – 12:00pm
University of Maine at Orono, Donald P. Corbett Business Building, RM 100

July 27, 2017
1:00pm – 4:30pm
University of Maine at Orono, Donald P. Corbett Business Building, RM 100

Please RSVP to Brenda Vigue at brenda.vigue@maine.gov or (207) 624-6852.

Maine DOE Summer Training Dates and Registration for NEO and Synergy

The Maine Department of Education is offering five half-day sessions for NEO updates and training and one half-day for Synergy Training. An additional full-day session will also be held for districts who manually enter information into the State level Student Information System.

During the NEO session, Maine DOE Helpdesk members will review changes to NEO, which include Maine State Reports previously located in Infinite Campus State Edition. Other changes to NEO include the new Data Collection and Reporting (DC&R) module, access to NEO, changes to NEO staff, and clarification of Staff and District Roles. There will also be a short session on Student Data Privacy. Attendees should include those who currently complete NEO Reports, those who previously worked with student reports in Infinite Campus State Edition, and those who will be doing these activities in the coming school year. Student data certifications will now be done in NEO, so Superintendents who certify reports may also want to attend.

A light lunch will be provided, and during this time, Maine DOE and Synergy staff will be available for questions.

For the Synergy session, participants will learn how to use Synergy DOE to upload student data required by the State of Maine. In addition, participants will learn how to use Synergy DOE to enter and validate student data that is not included in the upload process.

Upon completion of this session, participants will understand how to perform uploads and will be able to:

* Log in to Synergy and navigate the interface
* Use and understand Synergy concepts and terminology
* Change Focus to view other years/schools
* Create personal Navigation Menus
* View existing student information
* Find a single student or multiple students
* Enter and modify student data
* Truancy
* Discipline
* Use a Matrix to print student information or export student information to other desktop programs
* Create student filters
* Create Graph information
* Preview and Print common reports
* Save report settings

The August 1st, Manual Entry Session will be an all-day in-depth look at how to enter student information directly into the system. (NEO topics will not be covered at this session).

Dates and Registration

July 25
Houlton High School
7 Bird Street
Houlton, ME 04730
http://events.egov.com/eventreg/ME/event.htm?name=doeneosynergytraininghoulton

July 26
Ellsworth Elementary School/Middle School
20 Forest Avenue
Ellsworth, ME 04605
http://events.egov.com/eventreg/ME/event.htm?name=doeneosynergytrainingellsworth

July 27
Orion Performing Arts Center
50 Republic Avenue
Topsham, ME 04086
http://events.egov.com/eventreg/ME/event.htm?name=doeneosynergytrainingtopsham

July 31
Cony School
60 Pierce Drive
Augusta, ME 04330
http://events.egov.com/eventreg/ME/event.htm?name=doeneosynergytrainingaugusta

August 1
MANUAL UPLOAD Schools only please. NEO not presented
Cony School
60 Pierce Drive
Augusta, ME 04330
http://events.egov.com/eventreg/ME/event.htm?name=doeneosynergytrainingaugustamanualentry

August 2
Portland Arts & Technology High School
196 Allen Avenue
Portland, ME 04103
http://events.egov.com/eventreg/ME/event.htm?name=doeneosynergytrainingportland

If you have any questions please contact Maine’s Data Systems Helpdesk Manager Shannon Bartash at (207) 624-6799.

 

Maine DOE’s Early Childhood Education Conference

Registration is now open for the Maine DOE’s Early Childhood Education Conference. The conference will be held at the Augusta Civic Center on August 14-16, 2017 and is intended for PreK and Kindergarten early childhood staff and administrators.

There are two training tracks to choose from and space is limited:

1. Building Blocks PreK Curriculum Training Track ($250.00) 3 days – this training session is appropriate for PreK teachers and Ed Techs and also for Kindergarten teachers that may be interested in understanding the PreK math curriculum for building alignment.
2. STEAM Training Track ($50.00) 2 days – This track is appropriate for any PreK or Kindergarten teacher.

Continental breakfast and lunch are provided each day as part of the conference registration.

Financial Aid is available.

Register for Early Childhood Conference

For more information contact Maine DOE’s Early Childhood Specialist Sue Reed at susan.d.reed@maine.gov or 624-6632.

Maine DOE awards 3 additional EMBRACE grants for regional efficiency initiatives

Augusta – The Maine Department of Education (DOE) today announced 3 additional grant awards for collaborative initiatives undertaken by schools and educational agencies as part of a statewide regional opportunity and efficiency initiative called EMBRACE.

Group
Left to right: Tonya Arnold, Principal at Maine Academy of Natural Sciences; Travis Works, Executive Director/Principal at Cornville; Lyford Beverage, Superintendent of RSU 74; and Ken Coville, President/Director of Development at Good Will-Hinkley. .

In April, 7 grants totaling nearly $3 million in funds were originally announced kicking off the EMBRACE initiative: Enabling Maine students to Benefit from Regional And Coordinated approaches to Education. The effort is part of a growing focus on improving education services while saving local costs by encouraging regional partnering.

The chance to apply for the Educational Efficiencies and Opportunities Grant was offered by the Maine DOE earlier this year in response to Executive Order 2017-001 issued by Governor LePage promoting Regional Efforts to Achieve Efficiencies in Delivering Educational Services.

To apply, school districts and neighboring educational units proposed plans that would help save cost by working together on initiatives that could create new opportunities for students while reducing cost. The grant proposal resulted in 21 applications with an array of cost saving plans to benefit Maine students.

Today 3 more regional efficiency projects will be awarded close to $1.5 million in additional funding. The new projects involve several new sites, bringing the total to 10 grants awards, with more than 60 sites throughout Maine involved in the EMBRACE initiative.

Below is a list of the 3 additional projects that will receive grant funds.

Kennebec Valley STEM Collaborative Outreach

Towns/Schools: Lead – MSAD 74/RSU 74 (Anson, Solon, Embden, New Portland). Partners – MSAD 13/RSU 83 (Bingham, Moscow) MSAD #59/RSU #59 (Madison), Somerset Career and Technical Center (Skowhegan)

Description: The three districts plan to introduce, enhance, and expand science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education at the middle level by creating a STEM outreach project/program that targets the needs of all students from at-risk to gifted and talented. This outreach project will align the STEM curriculum with the progression of local PK-12 standards. The project will employ a STEM Coach to work with teachers to promote goals such as – emphasizing STEM higher level thinking, explore STEM career pathways, promote student engagement, and to increase enrollment in science, math, and technology courses in high school.

Grant Amount: 130,000
Projected Savings: $1,176,000

Western Maine Regional Education Program

Towns/Schools: Lead – RSU 10 (Buckfield, Byron, Canton, Carthage, Dixfield, Hanover, Hartford, Mexico, Peru, Roxbury, Rumford,  and Sumner) Partners – RSU 9 (Chesterville, Farmington, Industry, New Sharon, New Vineyard, Starks, Temple, Vienne, Weld, Wilton), MSAD 44 (Bethel, Greenwood, Newry, Woodstock), RSU 56 (Canton, Carthage, Dixfield, and Peru), RSU 58 (Phillips, Avon, Kingfield, and Strong), RSU 73 (Jay, Livermore, Livermore Falls), RSU 78 (Dallas Plantation, Magalloway Plantation, Rangeley, Rangeley Plantation and Sandy River Plantation).

Description: This project will support the development of a regional education program that will serve students (K-12) who are in need of a therapeutic educational setting. The program treatment model will include family work and community collaboration in order to support students achieving meaningful outcomes in the least restrictive educational environment. While students are attending the program, academic and treatment goals focus on reintegration and participation with nondisabled peers.

Grant Amount: 798,000
Projected Savings: $3,168,890

Shared Services Model

Towns/Schools: Lead – Maine Academy for Natural Sciences (Fairfield) Partners – Cornville Regional Charter School (Cornville), Snow Pond Arts Academy (Sidney) and Snow Pond Center for the Arts (non-profit), and Good Will Hinckley (non-profit).

Description:

  • Share budgeting, financial reporting, federal grant management, payroll and human resource functions.
  • Hire a shared Collaboration Coordinator to work with participating schools to assess needs, identify service options, and implement services to meet those needs.
  • Collaborate on communication technology plans and tools.
  • Share student transportation services.
  • Share special education administration and evaluation services.
  • Create a shared sustainable residential and learning space for international and out-of-state students using a model similar currently used by private and public schools in Maine.

Tentative Grant Amount: $549,794.50
Projected Savings: $2,942,782

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Media Release: Maine DOE to Host Virtual Reality Expo for Educators

Augusta, Maine – The Maine Department of Education (DOE) and the Maine State Library are teaming up to host a Virtual Reality Immersive Expo for educators on June 19th from 10:00am – 4:00pm at the Maine State Library.

Attendees are asked to register for the expo in advance at no cost.

The event is being held to help facilitate an awareness about new and emerging education tools, and to see and hear from some of the Maine schools, and higher education institutions who are currently using virtual reality in their classrooms.

Among the schools presenting is York School Department who has run over 50 Google Expeditions through the 16-17 school year. Using the tool, teachers are able to take students on virtual field trips to locations all over the world and beyond. They report that students rave about the trips, and the new perspectives they gain from the experience.

Other presenters include software companies such as Apple Inc., HP Inc., zSpace and more that offer virtual reality education tools which provide students with a more immersive learning experience, access to new places and resources, and a deeper learning of complex concepts.

There will be booths located in the atrium of the Maine State Library in addition to 30 minute presentations throughout the day. Educators are encouraged to attend at any time from 10:00am to 4:00pm.

Find a list of presenters below, along with a link to the presentation schedule. The presentations will also be live streamed on the Maine DOE Facebook page.

Register for the expo here »

Presentation Schedule »

More information »

Visiting presenters:

  • zSpace
  • York School Department
  • Bates College
  • University of New England (UNE)
  • Nearpod
  • HP Inc.
  • UMaine
  • Thomas College
  • Maine Math and Science Alliance
  • Mount Desert Island High School
  • ThingLink
  • Apple Inc.
  • HistoryView
  • USM – CI2LAB

For more information contact: Rachel Paling at 207-624-6747 or rachel.paling@maine.gov

Maine DOE honors the 2016 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching

 

Math Finalist: Jenny Jorgensen, Barbara Ellis, Michele Mailhot

 On Friday evening, May 19th, Maine DOE honored the four state finalists for the 2016 Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching Mathematics and Science (PAEMST) with a dinner held at the Maple Hill Farm Inn located in Hallowell.  Shari Templeton, Maine DOE Science and Technology Specialist, and Michele Mailhot, Maine DOE Mathematics Specialist, planned the evening event honoring Barbara Ellis (Frank H. Harrison Middle School), elementary mathematics finalist, Kirsten Gould (Buxton Center Elementary School), elementary science finalist, Susan O’Brien (Weatherbee School), elementary science finalist, and Tonya Prentice (Woodstock Elementary School), elementary science finalist.

Science Finalist: Kimberly O’Donnell, Kirsten Gould, Shari Templeton

The Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) are the nation’s highest honors for teachers of mathematics and science. Awardees serve as models for their colleagues, inspiration to their communities, and leaders in the improvement of mathematics and science education.

Science Finalist: Matthew Lindemann, Susan O’Brien , Shari Templeton

 

The evening began with a social networking event where past awardees had an opportunity to meet the four state finalists. This was followed by dinner, official congratulations from Robert G. Hasson, Commissioner, Maine Department of Education, and Martha Harris, Chair, Maine State Board of Education.  The keynote address was delivered by Beth BeyersSmall, the NSF Teaching Fellowship Coordinator for the Maine Center for Research in STEM Education, and several past Presidential Awardees, Marielle Edgecomb, Laurie Gott, and Laura Stevens, shared memorable moments from their experiences in D.C. during their recognition trip as awardees.

Science Finalist: Jolene Littlehale, Tonya Prentice, Shari Templeton

 

The main event of the evening was the introduction of the four state finalists.  Jenny Jorgensen, Mathematics Coach, Yarmouth Schools, spoke on behalf of Barbara Ellis,  Kimberly O’Donnell, principal, Buxton Elementary School, spoke on behalf of Kirsten Gould, Matthew Lindemann, Co-Teacher, George B. Weatherbee School, spoke on behalf of Susan O’Brien, and Jolene Littlehale, Principle, Woodstock Elementary School, spoke on behalf of Tonya Prentice.  All four state finalists were presented with certificates from the PAEMST program by Shari Templeton (Maine DOE) and Michele Mailhot (Maine DOE).

For further information regarding the PAEMST program  you may contact shari.templeton@maine.gov or michele.mailhot@maine.gov

2017 Count ME In Student Poster Contest

Count ME In is sponsoring the third annual Student Poster Contest to engage students ages 6-17 in promoting school attendance. Students are invited to create a design for the 2017 Attendance Awareness Month celebration in September, 2017. This is an opportunity for students to share their views on why school attendance is important. Students can participate from at school, summer program or home. The deadline is July 18.

The winning posters will be reproduced with the artist’s name on the poster and distributed throughout Maine. In addition, the winning artists will receive Amazon Gift Cards. Guidelines for contest details can be found on www.countmeinmaine.org.

Please share with students you think might be interested in submitting artwork. If you have any questions, please contact Susan Lieberman at slieberman@countmeinmaine.org.