Maine Harvest Lunch Week will be celebrated by school districts across the state this year from Sept. 21-25, with the Maine School Garden Open House taking place on Sept. 26. This year’s theme is “A Fresh Take on School Meals.”
Continue reading “Harvest Lunch Week contest and local food on school menus”
The Maine DOE is conducting a survey for social studies educators in prekindergarten through grade 12 to provide a snapshot of programming across the state and inform the Department’s work. The survey is open now through Sept. 30. Click here to take the survey.
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All Title I schools interested in developing a schoolwide plan are invited to attend two training sessions hosted by the Department this fall. Sessions will be held on Oct. 20 and Nov. 3 from 9 to 11:30 a.m. in room 103 of the Burton Cross Office Building at 111 Sewall Street in Augusta.
The Maine DOE has posted an example policy on academic eligibility for athletic and co-curricular participation. This policy was developed collaboratively by representatives of the Maine Principals Association (MPA), the Maine Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (MIAAA), Maine School Management Association (MSMA) and Great Schools Partnership (GSP). The policy is a welcome resource for school districts as they transition to proficiency-based learning and proficiency based diplomas and review, revise, and/or refine existing policies to better address the shifts in practice underway in their schools. Recently, the eligibility policies were vetted at two statewide MPA gatherings and the MIAAA state conference.
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During the month of August, over 400 PK-12 educators from across Maine attended two-day professional development institutes offered in Presque Isle, Brewer, Lewiston and Saco. The Pathways to Proficiency institute was designed to help teams of educators strengthen their understanding of Maine’s English language arts standards while also bolstering their knowledge of highly effective instructional strategies that support students in achieving proficiency.
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The U. S. Department of Education has approved Maine’s Educator Equity Plan aimed at increasing access to excellent educators. Maine is one of only 16 states to receive approval of the required state Educator Equity Plan, filed with USDOE last month. To summarize, Maine will take steps to decrease the gaps in student access to experienced qualified teachers regardless of where students live, their income or their race.
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AUGUSTA – As Maine shifts to a proficiency-based system by 2018, the 2014-15 Smarter Balanced Assessment scores in English language arts and mathematics for grades 3 through 8 and the third year of high school are the first statewide assessment of our students’ accomplishments in meeting Maine’s college and career readiness standards. These results are reflective of a more rigorous assessment as the world is changing rapidly, and Maine is poised to improve in this educational shift to better prepare our students for future success.
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The Department hosted four interns this summer. MLTI and the Migrant Education Program benefited from the talent, energy and time of these college students. Fiona Sterling of Richmond attends Hellenic College in Brookline, Massachusetts, where she is majoring in Management and Leadership. She was joined by Richmond native, Ashley Godbout of Hallowell who is an education major at the University of Maine Farmington.
The Maine DOE has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) seeking bids to provide statewide assessments online for mathematics & English language arts/literacy in grades 3-8 and the third year of high school beginning in the spring of 2016.
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The Osher Scholarship, offered through the University of Maine System, has a new name and is available now. The scholarship is now called the Osher New Beginnings Scholarship. It is to encourage more Maine people of all ages to give college a try by allowing recipients to take one course, including books and required materials. Eligibility still includes those who are a first time student and has been expanded to include individuals who have 30 or fewer credit hours and have not attended in at least five years.
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Maine DOE Newsroom 