September is Attendance Awareness Month, a national event designed to bring attention to the connection between school attendance and academic achievement. Studies have shown the importance of building good attendance habits in the early grades and continuing through middle and high school.
Category: News & Views
Maine DOE provides $1M in grant funds to CTE schools
Maine DOE is pleased to announce 27 Career and Technical Education schools will receive their share of $1 million in grant funds in FY 2016. These funds may be used for upgrading equipment needed to complete the standards, certifying programs and teachers to be able to offer Industry Recognized Credentials (IRCs) and for student skill assessments related to the mandated standards. The grant fulfills the CTE standards requirement required in Title 20-A, section 8306-B.
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Annual notification of schoolwide program options
Schools that receive federal Title I funds, have poverty rates of at least 40 percent and have approved Title IA Schoolwide Plans are eligible to use their Title I funds – and funds from other sources – to develop “schoolwide programs.”
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Harvest Lunch Week contest and local food on school menus
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.”
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Maine DOE seeks social studies information
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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Maine DOE to host schoolwide training
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.
Academic eligibility policy for athletic and co-curricular participation
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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Pathways to Proficiency summer literacy institute
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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Maine is one of 16 states to gain federal approval on Educator Equity Plan
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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Standardized Assessment Scores for 2014-15
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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Maine DOE Newsroom 