Category: News & Views

Maine Charter Commission approves contracts with three new public charter schools

The following is a news release from the Maine Charter School Commission.

AUGUSTA — The Maine Charter School Commission in a public meeting held Tuesday in Augusta discussed, voted and signed three public charter school contracts – culminating months of work on the part of the schools and the commission. The Maine Charter School Commission has the responsibility to approve up to 10 public charter schools in the State in 10 years. The three schools are the Baxter Academy for Technology and Sciences to be located in Portland; the Fiddlehead School of Arts and Science in Gray; and the Harpswell Coastal Academy in Harpswell. These three schools will open September 2013.

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Hands-on learning a success in Oxford County

Eighth grader Ken Stump shows Commissioner Bowen a solar panel they created to heat the indoor greenhouse at Roberts Farm in Norway.
Eighth grader Ken Stump shows Commissioner Bowen a solar panel Oxford Hills Middle School students created to heat the indoor greenhouse at Roberts Farm in Norway.

I had the chance visit three Oxford County schools yesterday as part of my Promising Practices Tour, just a day after releasing the new A-F school grading system designed to improve transparency. As a state, we need to move beyond the one-size-fits-all models of teaching and embrace student-centered models like the ones many Maine schools, like the ones I visited in Oxford County, are doing. Governor LePage and I made reference to that Wednesday when we unveiled the new school report cards, which showed a majority of Maine’s elementary and high schools earned an A, B or C.

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Education Commissioner’s visit promotes promising practices at Oxford County schools

Mountain Valley Middle School student Abby LaBrash explains her genetics project to Commissioner Bowen.
Mountain Valley Middle School student Abby LaBrash explains her genetics project to Commissioner Bowen.

SOUTH PARIS – A day after releasing a new school grading system designed to focus on transparency and continuous improvement in schools, Maine’s Education Commissioner toured three Oxford County schools that are embracing new models for educational excellence.

The visit by Maine Department of Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen to Oxford Hills Middle School and Oxford Hills Technical School in RSU 17 and Mountain Valley Middle School in RSU 10 was the latest in his Promising Practices Tour.

Bowen began the tour on Thursday at the Roberts Farm Preserve in Norway, where he talked with Oxford Hills Middle School seventh and eighth graders about the life science and leadership skills they’re developing by participating in the farm’s experiential learning program.

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Governor, Education Commissioner release report cards for Maine schools

On an A-F grade scale, 81 percent of elementary schools and 69 percent of high schools earned an A, B or C. The Department of Education has pledged increased support for those that didn’t make the grade.

AUGUSTA – With the release today of report cards for each of the state’s schools, the Department of Education has provided Mainers with a better understanding of where their schools stand, and how they can improve.

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Clarification on triennial evaluations of students with disabilities

The federal IDEA and Maine’s special education regulations require a reevaluation of a child with a disability if the school administrative unit (SAU) determines that the educational or related service needs of the child, including those related to improved academic achievement and functional performance, warrant a reevaluation or if the child’s parent or teacher requests one. Continue reading “Clarification on triennial evaluations of students with disabilities” →