Charter school commission to hold public input sessions

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

Newly formed panel to hear from public in Portland, Bangor, Augusta about regional educational needs

Note, 2/29/2012: The press release has been updated to reflect the postponement of the Portland session to March 5. That session was initially scheduled for March 1, but was rescheduled due to an expected snowstorm.

AUGUSTA – The newly formed Maine State Charter School Commission will hit the road in early March to hear from the public about educational needs in each Maine region that could be addressed by a charter school.

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Comments sought on Maine’s IDEA Part B application

The Maine Department of Education is seeking comments from the public on its application for federal funds under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which covers services for preschool- and school-age children with disabilities.

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Portland and Sanford Communities Receive $9m in Grants

The following was released today by the Nellie Mae Education Foundation.

Nellie Mae Education Foundation supports student-centered learning initiatives

QUINCY, MA – Two Maine communities received three-year grants from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation (NMEF), the largest charitable organization in New England focused exclusively on education, totaling more than $9 million to support “student-centered” approaches to learning. Continue reading “Portland and Sanford Communities Receive $9m in Grants” →

Preliminary state education subsidy printouts for 2012-13

Preliminary State subsidy printouts (ED 279) for school administrative units are now available this morning on the Maine DOE funding web pages. These subsidy amounts for FY 2012-13 are only preliminary and do not represent final action of the 125^th Legislature and therefore should only be used as “initial” guidance for your budget preparations. Continue reading “Preliminary state education subsidy printouts for 2012-13” →

Starting the serious work of crafting a new accountability system

Author icon: Head shot of Commissioner Stephen Bowen When we took to the road in December, we wanted to hear what the public had to say about the system we use to hold our schools accountable. And hear from the public we did. We had more than 1,500 people respond to an online survey; several dozen turned out at public forums in Bangor, Portland and online.

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Maine DOE makes plans for improved accountability

AUGUSTA – The education commissioners in Maine and New Hampshire sent a joint letter to Washington, D.C., today that outlines their plans to craft a thoughtful, fair and constructive system for holding their schools accountable and helping them improve. The letter lays out the two states’ intentions to get out from under the unfair and unrealistic No Child Left Behind accountability system, but through a deliberate and complete process that involves educators, parents and others in building an alternative.

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Maine Adult Ed shares joys of high-speed internet

AUGUSTA – Maine Adult Education programs from Kittery to Fort Kent are offering presentations to community groups to spread the word about how people can utilize broadband to further their education, find resources to improve their health, access government information and more.

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Gov. LePage, Commissioner Bowen announce new education initiatives

The following is a press release from the Office of Gov. Paul LePage

New legislation “puts students first”

AUGUSTA – Governor Paul LePage unveiled his education legislative agenda on Wednesday at the Somerset Career and Technical Education Center in Skowhegan. With the automotive shop as the backdrop, the Governor and Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen described four pieces of legislation that advance the work of designing an education system around student needs.

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Update: State support for Infinite Campus, PowerSchool

The Maine Department of Education indicated in October 2010 that we would work to financially support some new local implementations of PowerSchool and Infinite Campus data systems, and would develop a system for prioritizing which school systems would be first in line to receive such support.

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Preliminary state education subsidies for 2012-13

Preliminary State subsidy information for school administrative units will be available this afternoon at 1 p.m. on the Maine DOE website. These subsidy amounts for FY 2012-13 are only preliminary and do not represent final action of the 125^th Legislature and therefore should only be used as “initial” guidance for your budget preparations. Some calculations included in these amounts are dependent upon enactment of statutory changes.

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