Maine Safe Routes to School grants available

Grants are now available to Maine schools through the Maine Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program, a federally-funded partnership of the Maine Department of Transportation, the Bicycle Coalition of Maine and communities throughout the state working to improve bicycle and pedestrian safety and encourage more students to walk and bike to school. Continue reading “Maine Safe Routes to School grants available”

Superintendent feedback needed on school security

The Maine Legislature recently passed L.D. 905, a resolve directing the Maine DOE to examine school security and work with security experts.  As part of our efforts, we have developed a short survey and request that each superintendent offer feedback on this important topic by completing it at http://tinyurl.com/meschoolsecuritysurvey. Your response is requested no later than Friday, Dec. 13 so a nationally-recognized security consultant can analyze the results for a report to the Legislature. Continue reading “Superintendent feedback needed on school security”

New schools proposed to Charter Commission

AUGUSTA – The Maine Charter School Commission (MCSC) has received applications from four groups interested in opening public charter schools in the fall of 2014.

Those submitting applications by the Dec. 2 deadline to join Maine’s five existing public charter schools included Lewiston-Auburn Academy Charter School, Lewiston; Maine Connections Academy; Maine Virtual Academy; and Many Hands Montessori School, Windham.

Continue reading “New schools proposed to Charter Commission”

Bonny Eagle Robotics Team step ahead in national competition

BERTrobotics2013STANDISH – Bonny Eagle Robotics Team (A.K.A. BERT) announced today that they are currently in second place in a national competition for their team’s “First Foot” engineering concept about a shoe that collects and stores energy.

Continue reading “Bonny Eagle Robotics Team step ahead in national competition”

Note to NEO Transportation Module users

The Maine DOE is planning a routine update to its NEO Transportation Module on Tuesday, Nov. 26 starting at 9 a.m. and lasting approximately 30 minutes. If you attempt to login during this time frame, it is likely you will be presented with an error page that reads: ” Offline.  This NEO module is offline for maintenance. Check back soon.”

We thank you in advance for your patience as we upgrade the site during this brief offline period to ensure it better serves you.

Thankful for great teachers and leaders

Students Adie Hughes and Chase Hathorn from the Weatherbee School in Hampden present their teacher,  Susan Carpenter O'Brien, a semi-finalist for the 2014 Teacher of the Year, at a banquet in Portland last Friday as Acting Education Commissioner Jim Rier looks on
Students Adie Hughes and Chase Hathorn from the Weatherbee School in Hampden present their teacher, Susan Carpenter O’Brien, a semi-finalist for the 2014 Teacher of the Year, at a banquet in Portland last Friday as Acting Education Commissioner Jim Rier looks on.

Last Friday, I had the privilege of attending the annual Teacher of the Year banquet, hosted at Unum’s Portland campus.

It was exciting to see the education and business communities come together to celebrate these champions for children. As Acting Education Commissioner, I hope to facilitate us working together more to ensure we are best serving our students and our great State.   Continue reading “Thankful for great teachers and leaders”

Notice to MaineCare providers from DOE/DHHS Commissioners

Over the past several years,  the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the Department of Education (DOE) have been working together to identify possible improvements to the processes involved with billing for MaineCare reimbursable, medically necessary services provided in a school based setting. Continue reading “Notice to MaineCare providers from DOE/DHHS Commissioners”