As a reminder, the Maine Department of Education (DOE) has announced a partnership with TransACT Communications to support compliance with the new Parent and Family Engagement requirements under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and to help schools meet the civil rights obligations of schools in working with English Learners (EL) and their families. TransACT Parent Notices gives you unlimited access to an online library of ESSA compliance resources. Your subscription, funded by the Maine DOE, includes access to guidance on required notifications, recommended timelines for distribution, and more than 100 legally reviewed parent notifications across 21 categories, including:

• Parent and Family Engagement
• Teacher and Paraprofessional Qualifications
• English Learners
• Title I and Title III Programs
• Migrant Education
• Homeless Education
• Foster Care

TransACT will be providing schools with professional development and training including online live help, phone and email support, webinar trainings, and two (2) in-person trainings.  These trainings will be held on November 2nd in Lewiston at Green Ladle and on November 3rd in Brewer at Jeff’s Catering. Please visit the following URL to register for one of these in-person trainings:  https://goo.gl/forms/3AxrjYdOmU2rkTb62

At the time of this notice, your district subscription to TransACT is live.  If you need to distribute required parent notifications prior to next month’s training or simply wish to explore this new resource, please follow the instructions below to activate your district subscription:

1. Visit http://www.transact.com/;
2. Click on “LOGIN/REGISTER” at the top of the screen; 3. Find the TransACT ParentNotices logo and click the “Login” link below it;
3. Click “New User? Register for Access!” and continue with the required information prompts; 5. Discover what new resources are available to you! You will receive a registration confirmation email which includes the login link, your username, and password. If you have any questions or run into any trouble, please be sure to contact TransACT Customer Support at (425) 977-2100, option 3, or via email at support@transact.com.

If you have additional questions, please contact Janette Kirk at Janette.kirk@maine.gov or (207) 624-6707.

The Maine Department of Education, the Military Interstate Children’s Compact Commission (MIC3), and the Maine State Approving Agency for Veterans Education sponsor the following message:

Some of your high school students may be eligible for thousands of dollars of GI Bill benefits while attending high school.

Maine has nearly 130,000 veterans, many of whom have service-related disability ratings from the Veterans Administration or have suffered a service-related death.

If a veteran has a 100% Permanent and Total service-related disability rating, or is deceased as a result of military service, their spouse and children may qualify for Dependents Educational Assistance. This is also known as Chapter 35 of the GI Bill.

Many are aware that this benefit can be used for colleges, trade schools, adult education programs, and apprenticeship programs. However, many are unaware that an eligible child can use these same benefits while attending high school, once the child reaches the age of 18.

The Chapter 35 benefit currently pays more than $1,000 per month (full time rate). The benefit is non-taxable. Additionally, up to five months of benefits can be used while in high school without being charged against the basic 45 months of full-time eligibility. This benefit often provides an amazing “nest egg” to cover day to day household costs or additional costs associated with obtaining a post-secondary education.

The real challenge is identifying these people and putting them in contact with an agency to assist them through the paperwork. The Maine State Approving Agency for Veterans Education can assist eligible family members and school officials with completing the necessary paperwork. But they need help in identifying those who are eligible. There is no “magic list” identifying eligible veterans and their family members. That’s where our school partners can help.

If you become aware that a high school student may qualify for this benefit, worth over $50,000, please have them contact Robert Haley of The Maine State Approving Agency for Veterans Education at 207-582-2100 or via email at Robert.haley@maine.edu.

 

As a reminder, the Maine Department of Education’s new online certification system, Maine Certification Information System (MCIS), is scheduled for a soft release to staff and educators at pilot schools, and will be available to administrators, and local support system chair people statewide on Monday, October 30th. MCIS is targeted to be available to all educators and the general public by mid-November.

MCIS will completely replace the Maine DOE’s current paper certification application system. Highlights include a simple account creation process, electronic notifications about actionable items for both educators and administrators, and the ability to pay fees online.

To help with the transition, the certification office will be closed to educators from 10/16/2017 – 10/27/2017. The office will re-open on Monday, October 30^th with MCIS fully operational for all staff at pilot schools, and to administrators, and local support system chair people statewide.

As a reminder, once MCIS is in place, educators and administrators will need to create an account in order to use the system. The Maine DOE’s Certification team will be sending out individual notices to the email addresses that are on file in the NEO staff system to initiate this process. Additional training and guidance will be forthcoming.

For more information contact Ángel Martínez Loredo at 207-624-6603 or email cert.doe@maine.gov.

TO:               Private School Administrators
FROM:          Dr. Robert G. Hasson, Jr., Maine Education Commissioner
DATE:           October 10, 2017
SUBJECT:     Reporting 2017-18 Student Information – Due Date October 31, 2017

The Synergy State edition is online for school year 2017-18 updates. The updated 2017-18 student information will be utilized to meet State and federal reporting requirements (Graduates, Dropouts, AYP, etc.) as well as the calculation of State subsidy for 2017-18 for Maine’s public school administrative units.

All private schools with publicly funded students must report all “publicly funded students” in the State of Maine’s Synergy State System. The private schools that receive publicly funded students must report these students in the Synergy State Education system in order for the public school administrative units to receive a subsidy count for these students in their future State subsidy. The State subsidy to a public school unit is often the source of funding that a school administrative unit uses to pay the tuition for these students to attend the private schools.

Student Enrollment Reporting – Due Date October 31, 2017:

October 1, 2017 Student Count – all publicly funded students should be enrolled in Synergy State Edition by October 31, 2017 so that the resident public school administrative units may review the data and verify the October 1st student count.

• For private schools enrolling “ALL” students in the Synergy System, please fax (1-866-219-8344) or mail the completed Signature Page of the October 1st Enrollment Report (EF-M-13) indicating that all students have been enrolled in the State Education system. There will be no need to complete the remainder of the EF-M-13.
• For private schools enrolling only publicly funded students in the State Education system, please complete the October 1st Enrollment Report (EF-M-13 – Sections 2 and 3 only) and email the Excel spreadsheet form to the Department at GPA.DOE@maine.gov. In addition, please fax the completed Signature Page to 1-866-219-8344.
• For private schools that have no publicly funded students, please complete the October 1st Enrollment Report (EF-M-13 – Sections 2 and 3) for the non-publicly funded students and email the Excel spreadsheet form to the Department at GPA.DOE@maine.gov. In addition, please fax the completed Signature Page to 1-866-219-8344.

The EF-M-13 Form can be downloaded from the Department of Education’s website at:
http://www.maine.gov/education/forms/misteam/enrollment/october/octprv.htm

60% Publicly Funded Private Schools

These 11 private schools must complete both the EF-M-13 and the EPS October Enrollment Certifications.

If you have any questions regarding the Synergy State Edition please contact the MEDMS Help Desk at (207) 624-6896 or e-mail medms.helpdesk@maine.gov.

If you have any general student questions, please contact Travis Wood at (207) 624-6742 or e-mail travis.wood@maine.gov.

After careful review of all oral and written comments received by the Maine DOE regarding proposed rule Chapter 134, Regulations for Awarding a High School Diploma, the Maine DOE has made the decision to withdraw the current proposed rule and restart the rulemaking process after a brief pause for conceptual conversations. The conceptual conversations will provide an opportunity to explore areas needing greater clarity in the current proposed rule Chapter 134. The Maine DOE remains committed to the proficiency-based diploma law (20-A MRS 4722-A) and remains committed to drafting a proposed rule that supports the implementation of a diploma based on evidence of proficiency.

The Department intends to start a new rulemaking process for proposed rule Chapter 134 once the following steps have been taken:

1.) During the month of October, Maine DOE’s Proficiency-based Education (PBE) Specialist will reach out to professional organizations to invite representatives from each of their stakeholder groups (superintendents, principals, curriculum leaders, special education directors, teachers, parents, and school board members) to engage in small (approximately 15 participants), role-alike, conceptual discussions regarding equitable access to a high school diploma and student readiness for entering career and college opportunities after high school. A randomly selected high school from each superintendent region will be contacted to engage in small (approximately 15 participants) conceptual conversations with students. These conceptual discussions will be facilitated by the Maine DOE PBE Specialist and guided by the following discussion prompts. (The Commissioner and other Maine DOE members may join the conversations as their schedules allow.):

a.) To what degree do you agree or disagree with this statement and why: The knowledge, required skills, and qualifications required for entrance into post-secondary opportunities in industry, trade, business, and higher education vary.

What do you see is needed to prepare students for their post-secondary next step?

b.) To what degree do you agree or disagree with this statement and why: The transcript and diploma are inseparable companion documents that together articulate a student’s readiness for the postsecondary next step she or he has chosen.

What do you see is needed to clearly articulate a student’s readiness for the postsecondary next step she or he has chosen?

c.) To what degree do you agree or disagree with this statement and why: The high school transcript must clearly communicate the student’s proficiency across the grade span progressions (preschool-grade 2; grades 3-5; grades 6-8; grades 9-12) thus providing a clear, accurate communication of what the student has achieved and what the diploma based on proficiency represents for each student.

What do you see is needed to clearly articulate what a student has learned?

d.) To what degree do you agree or disagree with this statement and why: Every student needs a personal learning plan and a small team whose primary goal is to understand the student’s aspirations, strengths, challenges, contexts of his or her life. The team works collaboratively with the student and others to provide the student access to learning experiences that support her or him so that she or he may learn as close to full potential as humanly possible. The focus on the team is always on the student developing competencies that will support her or his aspirations and development of efficacy towards these aspirations as well as the student’s ability to reach the highest grade span proficiency level possible while eligible to attend our public schools.

What do you see is needed to increase the probability that a student will graduate ready for his or her postsecondary next step?

e.) To what degree do you agree or disagree with this statement and why: Statewide agreement regarding what proficiency means or looks like in each grade span progressions (preschool-grade 2; grades 3-5; grades 6-8; grades 9-12) is necessary to support student opportunity to learn and demonstrate proficiency.

What do you see is needed to support opportunity to learn and demonstrate proficiency across the state?

f.) Would you be willing to share a final thought as a result today’s conversation

2.) Taking into consideration the insights gained from the upcoming conceptual discussions and the September public comments, the Maine DOE staff will write a new proposed rule Chapter 134 and begin again the Maine Administrative Procedures Act (A.P.A.) routine technical rule process pursuant to 5 MRS §8052 (public notice of filing, public hearing, open public comment period).The Maine DOE is working diligently to honor the integrity and vision for the high school diploma and transcript articulated in Maine education statute 20-A MRS §4722-A as well as the routine technical rulemaking pursuant to section §4722-A subsection 7. Maine DOE believes public input is a critically important.

It is clear from the oral and written comments submitted on proposed rule Chapter 134 that there is commitment in Maine to provide opportunity for all students to learn as much as they can the entire time the students are eligible to attend our public schools. It is also clear that the diploma has great social meaning and currency in our society. Clearly evident in the comments is that equity sits at the heart of the debate regarding what constitutes sufficient evidence for proficiency. We have provided links below to both the oral and written comments received by the September 8^th deadline.

Recorded public hearing and the written comments received by September 8, 2017 for proposed rule Chapter 134 submitted by September 8, 2017.

For more information on proposed rule Chapter 134 and the diploma based on proficiency, contact Maine Department of Education Proficiency-Based Education Specialist, Diana Doiron at diana.doiron@maine.gov

The Maine DOE’s new online certification system, Maine Certification Information System (MCIS), is scheduled for a soft release to staff and educators at pilot schools, and will be available to administrators, and local support system chair people statewide on Monday, October 30th. MCIS is targeted to be available to all educators and the general public by mid-November.

MCIS will completely replace the Maine DOE’s current paper certification application system. Highlights include a simple account creation process, electronic notifications about actionable items for both educators and administrators, and the ability to pay fees online.

The certification office will be closed to educators from 10/16/2017 – 10/27/2017. The office will re-open on Monday, October 30^th with MCIS fully operational for all staff at pilot schools, and to administrators, and local support system chair people statewide.

As a reminder, once MCIS is in place, educators and administrators will need to create an account in order to use the system. The Maine DOE’s Certification team will be sending out individual notices to the email addresses that are on file in the NEO staff system to initiate this process. Additional training and guidance will be forthcoming.

For more information contact Ángel Martínez Loredo at 207-624-6603 or email cert.doe@maine.gov.

On Monday, August 14^th, the Maine DOE is providing an opportunity to listen to the live public hearing of proposed rule Chapter 134 (Regulation for Awarding a High School Diploma) to anyone unable to attend the hearing from 9-11 AM in room 500 at the Cross State Office Building in Augusta.

Listen live on 8/14 at 9 am using this link: https://zoom.us/j/264310902

Written comments may also be submitted by 5pm on September 8, 2017 to the attention of Diana Doiron at diana.doiron@maine.gov or at Maine Department of Education, 23 State House Station, Augusta, ME  04333.

Pursuant to the rulemaking requirements in 20-A MRS §4722-A, Chapter 134 rule must address the following:

• Allow flexibility and innovation at the school and district level for the development of consistent graduation standards.
• Identify the manner in which multiple pathways in career and technical education can provide evidence of proficiency in the disciplines of the content areas and Guiding Principles of Maine’s system of learning results.
• Establish criteria for the placement in career and technical education programs while ensuring all students are exposed to all content areas of the system of learning results.

For more information on proposed rule Chapter 134 and the diploma based on proficiency, contact Maine Department of Education Proficiency-Based Education Specialist, Diana Doiron at diana.doiron@maine.gov