Noble Middle School Teacher Nominated for National Patricia Behring History Teacher of the Year

Teachers from 47 National History Day (NHD) Affiliate programs across the nation have been nominated for the Patricia Behring Teacher of the Year award. The award is sponsored by Patricia Behring in recognition of the pivotal role teachers play in the lives of students. Maine teacher, Christa Boeykens-Bui has been nominated for the Patricia Behring Teacher of the Year award. Ms. Bui is a gifted and talented teacher for Noble Middle School in Berwick.

Each National History Day affiliate may nominate one high school and one middle school teacher for this award. Every nominee for the $10,000 award is a teacher who demonstrates a commitment to engaging students in historical learning through the innovative use of primary sources, implementation of active learning strategies to foster historical thinking skills, and participation in the National History Day Contest. All nominees will receive $500.

“This award recognizes the very best educators from across the nation and beyond,” said National History Day Executive Director Dr. Cathy Gorn. “These educators are leaders and innovators in the teaching of history. They engage their students with hands-on, inquiry-based learning with primary sources. I congratulate them on their well-deserved nominations.”

The national winner will be selected by a committee of experienced teachers and historians and announced on Thursday, June 15, 2023, at the National History Day National Contest Awards Ceremony in College Park, Maryland. Nominees’ work must clearly illustrate the development and use of creative teaching methods that engage students in history and help them make exciting discoveries about the past.

The Maine Department of Education congratulates Christa Boeykens-Bui and Noble Middle School for this outstanding recognition. Thank you for all you do to support Maine students!

Four Maine Educators Named State Finalists in 2023 Presidential Awards for Mathematics and Science Teachers (PAEMST)

The Maine Department of Education (DOE) is pleased to announce four Maine educators who have been recommended to national selection committees for the 2023 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) program for grades 7-12.

PAEMST is the nation’s highest honor for teachers of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM, including computer science). Nominees complete a rigorous application process that allows them to demonstrate deep content knowledge and their ability to adapt to a broad range of learners and teaching environments. Maine applicants were reviewed by mathematics and science selection committees comprised of previous Maine PAEMST awardees and content area experts. Our state-level finalists will be honored at the Educator Summit this summer.

Up to three state-level finalists for each content area are forwarded to a panel of distinguished mathematicians, scientists, and educators at the national level who will assess the applications before recommending nominees to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). Teachers are selected based on their distinction in the classroom and dedication to improving STEM education. The teachers chosen to be Presidential Awardees will be notified by the White House, honored at various ceremonies in Washington, D.C., and will receive $10,000 from the National Science Foundation.

Join us in congratulating the 2023 PAEMST State Finalists and wishing them luck in the national selection process.

In the mathematics category, one applicant was selected as state finalists:

Elizabeth Hayden, Bonny Eagle High School

In the science category, three applicants were selected as state finalists:

Jennifer Hatch, Medomak Valley High School

Nominations will open in the fall of 2023 for the 2024 PAEMST Awards. This round of awards will honor mathematics, science, and engineering (STEM, including computer science) teachers working in grades K-6. Consider a great teacher you know for nomination this fall or nominate yourself! Learn more about the award and how to nominate a teacher here.

Maine State Science Fair Celebrates Bright Young Scientists and Engineers

On Saturday, April 1, STEM professionals and educators from around the state came together at The University of Maine to present, discuss, and recognize the work of 200 high school student researchers at the Maine State Science Fair (MSSF). Coordinators of the MSSF, the Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance (MMSA) and The Jackson Laboratory announced awards for 92 students representing 20 high schools, including $750,000 in Maine college scholarships.

“Students worked very, very hard on this for weeks, months, or maybe even a progression of a few years to make their projects stronger,” said Ruth Kermish-Allen, Executive Director of MMSA. “It takes a lot of resilience, and I for one was so inspired walking around the exhibit hall today seeing the passion, the excitement, the real joy for what students are learning about research and advancing our understanding for the betterment of society.”

“We’re continually impressed by the students’ ideas,” said Charlie Wray, Vice President for Education, The Jackson Laboratory. “The level of creativity we see in Maine high school students, which they bring to solve some very diﬃcult problems, is truly inspiring.”

The 2023 Grand Award winners of MSSF were:

Taking the top prize: Emma Markowitz, a homeschooled student from Trevett. Emma developed a
biodegradable, antimicrobial wound dressing for the purpose of detecting infection and healing
wounds. A pH indicator incorporated into the wound dressing presents a color change that can
indicate if a wound is infected.
Placing second were May Shin and Jiwon Choi of Fryeburg Academy. The pair studied the eﬀects of
arbuscular mycorrhizae and mushroom substrate on plant growth in soils that are contaminated with
microplastics. They are continuing to study the eﬀects of these materials on a soil’s water-holding
capacity.
In third place was Anh Võ of John Bapst Memorial High School. Anh’s data science with behavioral
science to study which areas of computer science would have the greatest inﬂuence on recruiting young women to pursue careers in STEM.

These four students will travel to Dallas in May to represent Maine at the Regeneron International Science & Engineering Fair alongside 1,700 students from over 80 countries.

The University of Maine led the scholarship program with 12 UMaine Top Scholar awards, which provide a renewable four-year full-tuition scholarship, pairing with a research mentor, and admission to the UMaine Honors College. The University of Southern Maine awarded seven four-year full-tuition scholarships. The University of New England awarded ﬁve $5,000 scholarships, each one renewable for up to four years. St. Joseph’s College, UMaine Augusta, and the UMaine College of
Engineering each awarded additional scholarships.

The full list of awards, including scholarships, is available at the Maine State Science Fair website.

Retired Teachers Share Their Wisdom with 8th Graders at Caribou Community School

“You can learn to make our world a better place. We’re all different and no one has to fit into the same role. I look forward to what you’ll bring to our future.” That’s just one of the many pieces of advice Ms. Diane Fitzpatrick and other retired educators shared with grade 8 students at Caribou Community School during the retired teacher panel on March 27th.

8th grade teachers Heather Anderson, Kim Barnes, Troy Barnes, Holly Rhinebolt, and Twyla Learnard take advantage of RSU 39’s Professional Collaboration Days to creatively plan events like this to connect students to each other and to the community. Their innovative practices effectively engage students in the learning process. “Collaboration is at the heart of all we do and what makes teaching together so much fun. We laugh together daily, even when the days are hard.”

Through one of these collaborations, an idea was born to bring together students and retired educators. Students would gain an up close and personal look at what schools were like in the past and retired teachers would have the opportunity to share their vast knowledge and wisdom as well as important life lessons. Learnard shared, “Though there were generations between the retired teacher panel and the student body audience, the connection was palpable. Curriculum advances, technology evolves, and assessment practices trend, but the relationship between teachers and pupils is ageless. You can’t define it. It’s a respect, a trust that simply is.”

The grade 8 team had previously met with Christina Kane-Gibson of the Caribou Historical Society to discuss creating podcasts to accompany the many artifacts on display at their museum. Adding student-created podcasts that share stories of retired Caribou teachers was one more way that students could immerse themselves in their town’s history and the rich stories that Caribou has to share. Kane-Gibson and 8th grade teachers hope to have the artifacts and podcasts available for public enjoyment this summer.

Panelists were asked questions generated by students on topics such as what inspired them to teach, changes in technology, and how gender roles have changed. “When I was in high school, there wasn’t much of a choice for young women at that time. You were either a nurse, a secretary, you got married or you were a teacher,” shared Margaret Cyr when asked why she chose to be a teacher. Mrs. Cyr went on to talk about how, because she had played piano since the age of 5, it made sense that she become a music teacher.

Kim Barnes orchestrated a photo opportunity that demonstrated the 4 generations of teachers present. Barnes stated, “Mr Hunter was Mr. Willey’s teacher, Mr. Willey was my teacher and Lyndsey is my student who wants to be a teacher one day. So the idea that we can pass the torch is important because teaching is a wonderful profession. Teachers are amazing people and schools do so much more than educate in the classroom.”

Lyndsey Ouellette shared what this experience has demonstrated for her, “Definitely to stick to it. To always be prepared. Know your kids and don’t just teach them, be a good influence for them.” Baylee Wright, another 8th-grade student, saw the importance of building relationships with students in what panelists shared, “Getting to know who you teach is just as important as what you teach.”

Students will begin compiling their notes from the panelist discussions and will begin writing scripts during the week of April 3rd. They hope to have podcasts recorded before April break and are very excited to practice their own storytelling by sharing these stories with the community.

4 generations of teachers

Students Confront Climate Change with Possible Solutions in 2023 Maine State KidWind Challenge

Twenty-one teams filled the Ocean Gateway in Portland as the Maine State KidWind Challenge returned following a three-year hiatus. “KidWind is a hands-on design celebration that engages students through the lens of wind and solar energy. Student teams design, construct and test small scale wind turbines and solar structures at events all over the world.” The national competition, which ballooned in size in 2009, has engaged over 40,000 students across 33 states. For this event, teams from five different Maine public schools brought turbines and presentations that they have been working on for weeks. They presented their materials to a panel of judges, and their turbines were put to the test in a wind tunnel to see how much power they generate. The results are projected up for competitors to watch as an energy sensor measures the voltage and current output of the turbines.

Retired Portland teacher Gus Goodwin successfully rallied many of the teachers who had participated in the past. The event is one that Goodwin has been championing for years, feeling that it helps students confront climate change with possible solutions. “We’re talking about climate change, but it left the students with a sense of agency… a sense that they can do something,” he told Newscenter Maine. As with many in-person events around the state, the Maine State KidWind Challenge was not quite back to its 2019 participation levels. Winslow Junior High School teacher Ginny Brackett recounted March of 2020 to her current group of four teams when she left her classroom with partially completed turbines. Her students, who were then elementary students, were grateful for the opportunity.

The day opened with a Q&A with Taylor Ward from UMaine’s Advanced Structures & Composite Center and Steve Nolet, Senior Director of Innovation & Technology for TPI Composites, who manufacture wind blades. The students were also presented a keynote from Tagwongo Obomsawin, who shared her own journey from rural life in Western Maine to her current position as the Clean Energy Partnership Program Manager in the Governor’s Energy Office.

The top-ranking teams, “W Group” from Mt. Ararat Middle School and “West End Whales” from Portland and Casco Bay High School, will be invited to compete at the national KidWind event in May at the University of Colorado. The “NCL Wind Turbines” from Massabesic Middle School were the runners-up and “MTA 1” from Mt. Ararat won the Spirit Award.

Prior to the event, Mt. Ararat Middle School STEM teacher Sandy Bickford appeared on MLTI’s Teaching with Tech podcast episode and she highlighted the KidWind Challenge as her favorite project to work on with students. “It’s a lot of work, it’s a lot of steps, it’s a lot of teaching, but… it’s relevant.”

The KidWind Challenge highlights many of the best qualities of STEAM learning. The teams of students who gathered at the Ocean Gateway exemplified the type of engagement in a project and resilience in problem-solving that many educators strive to introduce into their classrooms.

Students Showcase Their Expertise at Annual SkillsUSA Championships in Bangor

(Pictured: A student operating heavy equipment in a simulator as part of the Heavy Equipment contest at SkillsUSA)

Career and Technical Education (CTE) is growing in Maine, and it was all the more evident at the SkillsUSA Maine State Championships held in Bangor recently. Students enrolled in the many career and technical education (CTE) programs found in schools across Maine gathered in Bangor for an exciting two-day event where they got the chance to showcase the skills they have mastered. (See Maine DOE’s 2023 CTE Infographic to learn about CTE expansion in Maine.)

SkillsUSA is a national career and technical student organization serving more than 395,000 high school, college, and middle school students, and professional members enrolled in training, trade, technical, health, and skilled service occupations. Maine’s Chapter hosts an annual Championship event each year where students get the opportunity to showcase their skills by competing in various contests that allow them to show off what they know.

Contests include everything from wedding cake decorating to firefighting, computer programing, auto tool identification, everything in between, and then some! There were over 70 different contests that students participated in over the two-day event that columnated with an awards ceremony at Bangor’s Cross Insurance Center.

For many of the students, coming to SkillsUSA is an incredible accomplishment that they take a lot of pride in, and this year was extra special because they got the chance to share it with family and friends for the first time in a few years. The event, held at United Technologies Center (UTC), Eastern Maine Community College, and Cross Insurance Center, was held in person and the public was allowed to attend for the first time since before the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The exciting event bustled with groups of students, educators, instructors, and administrators, as well as TV news crews, family members, and supporters observing, snapping pictures, and taking videos of students while they competed.

Culinary Arts

Television Video Production

Cake Decorating

Restaurant Services

Television Video Production

Criminal Justice Bowl

Auto Tool Identification

Construction

Plumbing

Welding

Braden Luce competed in the Welding Sculpture contest along with twelve other students this year. Braden is enrolled in school at both Madomack Valley High School and Mid-Coast School of Technology where he participates in the welding program. He says he loves the program because of the hands-on aspect of it. Braden tells us that he looks forward to school every single day and is even disappointed when school gets closed on snow days.

Welding Sculpture

Braden Luce

Ahna Higgins competed in the Job Interview competition where she placed third earning a bronze medal. “I am very satisfied with my work in this competition because it helped me create connections in my technical center and become more confident in my interviewing skills,” she said. Ahna is a student at Somerset Career and Technical Center (SCTC) and Skowhegan Area High School. Last year she was enrolled in SCTC’s Certified Nursing Assistant Program and this year, her senior year, she has been part of the Early Education and Teaching program.

Higgins describes the work she does at SCTC as very fulfilling. “I get to spend my time in class doing things that really matter to me like working with children and learning about their development,” she said. “While preparing for SkillsUSA I also got the opportunity to prepare myself for an interview in the Education field,” she added. In the fall Higgins is planning to attend the University of Maine at Farmington to major in Elementary Education.

Ahna Higgins working in SCTC’s Early Education and Teaching program

Ahna Higgins at SkillsUSA

Ahna Higgins with friends at SkillsUSA

The Maine Department of Education congratulates all of the students who competed in SkillsUSA this year! We extend a special thank you, as well, to Maine’s Career and Technical Education schools for their continued dedication to providing quality career and technical education pathways to students across Maine.

Find the names of award recipients from the 2023 SkillsUSA Championships here.

Find more pictures from the conference, including the awards ceremony on the SkillsUSA Facebook Page.

See more media coverage of this event at the following links:

To learn more about SkillsUSA, check out Maine’s website here. To learn more about Career and Technical Education in Maine visit the Maine Department of Education’s website.

Sacopee Valley High School ELO Coordinator Making a Big Impact on Students’ Career Paths

“The best part of my day is working directly with my students,” said Elizabeth Sanborn, Sacopee Valley High School’s Extended Learning Opportunities (ELO) Coordinator. “It is a lot of fun helping them discover their interests and then create opportunities for them to explore careers.”

Sanborn is invigorated by the students’ excitement and commitment to their experiences with extended learning opportunities. The new initiative also helps reinvigorate schooling and reconnect the students, the school, and the community, especially following the health restrictions that felt like they separated schools and communities during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some of Sanborn’s recent successes include helping a student make a connection with a local tattoo artist to learn more about the career, including how to run a successful business. Another one of her students got the opportunity to interview several registered Maine guides and is currently studying for his own test in the spring. “He attended a three-day training class back in January and sent in for his Maine guide license just last week,” said Sanborn.

Here are some more student success stories, directly from students:

“I decided to do an ELO to make connections in the law field before going to college for law next year,” explains Abigail Sanborn, a Sacopee Valley senior. “This past semester I was partnered with a local civil law firm, where I went twice a week for an hour. I got to participate in simple drafting of documents, acting as a witness for estate planning, and got to interview several clerks, judges, and lawyers. During this second part of the year I am doing day trips to the Cumberland County District Attorney’s where I’m job shadowing different prosecutors. I am also exploring other avenues of law by doing ride-alongs; I wasn’t expecting to like police work, but that is what ELO’s are for. It’s an experimental opportunity for students to determine what they like and don’t like. Mrs. Sanborn has been a huge part in helping me find these opportunities and is always willing to find you experiences that you may not think of!”

“My ELO journey has been sort of complicated, but Mrs. Sanborn has been the best at getting me where I want to be,” said Elise Hermance, an 11th grader at Sacopee Valley High School. “I started off knowing I wanted to be a dog trainer and breeder. I sat in on a few classes up in Conway, NH. I came back to Mrs. Sanborn after going around three times and told her that this wasn’t for me. I know I want to do something with animals, but I am not sure that dog training is for me. I then did a job shadow at the Sacopee Valley Veterinary Clinic with a vet tech and it was so fun. They were all so nice to me. Now I am applying for a volunteer position at the Animal Rescue League of Greater Portland. I am so excited to have this opportunity in my life. Not just the job shadowing and knowing what I want and don’t want to do but the fact that I have learned so many different skills. I know how to reach out to people that I don’t know. None of this could be possible without Mrs. Sanborn!”

“It is amazing to be able to help a student fulfill a lifelong dream that they weren’t sure how to navigate before Sacopee Valley High School had this program at our school,” said Sanborn.

Sanborn has started to make some great connections with area businesses and hopes to continue that work throughout the year. “We have a lot of industry professionals who are excited to work with our students, and it really will be a win-win situation for all involved,” she added.

Sanborn would like to extend a huge thank you to Dr. Chris Parent at Sacopee Valley Family Dentistry, Bonnie Gould of Heritage Law, Tasha Berouty at Hallow Point Tattoo, and Wendy McGary and Ashley Blanchard at Sacopee Valley Elementary School, just to name a few!

Students Compete in Marketing & Hospitality Skills at Annual Maine DECA Conference

Maine DECA (formerly Distributive Education Clubs of America) held its annual Career and Development Conference in Auburn at the Hilton Garden Hotel on February 28th. DECA is an association of marketing, hospitality, finance, and entrepreneur students.

During the Conference, 30 students from Oxford Hills Regional Technical Center competed in marketing and hospitality categories and FOCUS training conducted leadership activities and team-building exercises.

Maine Department of Education Maine School Safety Center’s Wendy Robichaud was one of five judges that helped out at the conference.

“Even though it was a snow day, these students still showed up,” said Robichaud. “Congratulations, to these amazing students!”

How East Grand School is Helping to Prepare the Next Generation of Maine’s Workforce

As the Extended Learning Opportunities (ELO) Coordinator for East Grand School (RSU 84), Angela Cowger works with students to create meaningful experiences for students that build a long-lasting framework for the school’s ELO program.

“We are bringing awareness to students, parents, teachers, businesses, and community leaders about what ELOs are as well as working with them to provide varied, high-quality ELOs to students,” said Cowger. “Our goal is to develop an integrated, sustainable, and effective ELO program with a focus on career exploration, meaningful paid work experience, and work readiness skills that prepare students to be the next generation of innovators and small business leaders.”

Cowger says the best part of her day-to-day work is definitely the time she spends with the students. “It is rewarding to see students’ sense of pride and accomplishment when contributing to a community project, work placement, or other hands-on learning,” she said. “The growth and learning students gain from these ELO experiences are exceptional.”

Some recent successes include the experience of East Grand senior Phoebe Foss who is working on an ELO with the local town office on the Danforth Livable Community Program project. She is helping get the program off the ground, by coordinating and providing technology, social, nutrition, and other services. Phoebe is helping to facilitate these services as well as bring awareness about the program to social media and other local communication sources so the community can benefit from the much-needed opportunities and resources for its aging population.

Another student, Alan Emery is gaining hands-on experience and a more in-depth understanding of what it means to become a registered Maine guide, which he aspires to become after high school graduation. Alan recently participated in a week-long trip at a remote northern Maine wall tent moose hunting camp where his chores included working with two camp cooks with meal preparation, serving, and cleanup, fetching water daily from a stream for washing dishes and for hot showers, collecting and cutting firewood to use in the camp wood stoves in the dining and sleeping tents. He also assisted with breaking down camp and packing it away.

“Having Alan involved with our remote Maine moose camp not only provided great exposure and training but also opened the door to future possible employment for him,” said local businessman and registered Maine Guide Dave Conley of Canoe The Wild, who mentored Alan during the experience. “This training was invaluable and something that can’t be learned in a classroom.”

East Grand School is currently in the process of designing and implementing a k-12 Small Business Pathway, connecting Career and Life Readiness, Economics, and Guiding Principle standards at each grade level. The ELO program helps them launch the grades 9-12 work readiness portion of the Small Business Pathway.

“We are looking forward to working with local businesses to further students’ work readiness and entrepreneurial skills, as well as helping students collaborate with community leaders to solve community challenges,” said Cowger.

Cowger also says they already have several business leaders and community partners to thank, including Kiley Henderson at County Physical Therapy, Dave Conley at Canoe The Wild Maine Guide Service, Ardis Brown at the Danforth town office, David Apgar at the Snow Farm, and Sam Henderson and Greg Miller at Northern Maine Realty.

“These businesses and their leaders have been fantastic to work with and we are so thankful for them,” added Cowger. “We have received several optimistic responses as well as offers to connect with students in the future from local businesses. The support has been very positive! We are looking forward to many successful partnerships in the future.”

Extended Learning Opportunities (ELOs) are hands-on, credit-bearing courses outside of the traditional classroom with an emphasis on community-based career exploration. These opportunities are personalized for students and help them explore options for their professional lives. They help students engage in learning through instruction, assignments, and experiential learning. The Maine Department of Education (DOE), along with state-wide partner Jobs for Maine Graduates (JMG), have made a concerted effort to provide working models, support, and funding opportunities for Maine schools to set up ELO programs within their school communities. To learn more about Maine’s initiatives with extended learning opportunities, visit: https://www.maine.gov/doe/index.php/learning/elo or reach out to Maine DOE ELO Coordinator Rick Wilson at rick.wilson@maine.gov.

Technology Collaborations and Integration with MLTI and Caribou Community School

When eighth-grade teachers Kim Barnes, Heather Anderson, Holly Rhinebolt, and Troy Barnes wanted to provide students with learning opportunities that would spark curiosity and engagement in their students, they knew just who to contact. The Maine Department of Education’s Maine Learning Technology Initiative, or MLTI 2.0, answered the call.

On Monday, February 6th, MLTI ambassadors visited Caribou Community School to provide workshops for students on topics including virtual reality using Cospaces, google slides animations, green screens, and podcasting with WeVideo. Two neighboring districts, Fort Fairfield and Woodland were also invited to attend.

Kim Barnes, ELA teacher, shared, “Our whole theme this year in grade 8 has been to reconnect and re-engage students in their learning and this is one way to accomplish that.” Math teacher Troy Barnes adds, “This is a great opportunity for the kids because it’s not a traditional school day. It’s taking their interests and expanding it, giving them the opportunity to work outside of traditional environments.”

Students spent the morning attending a rotating schedule of 40-minute sessions where MLTI ambassadors Rob Dominick, Jonathan Werner, Martha Thibodeau, and Kathryn Meyer presented an overview of their topics. The afternoon was reserved for students to practice what sparked their interest and MLTI ambassadors were on hand to help as students practiced honing their new skills.

“The MLTI 2.0 program is such an incredible resource for teachers trying to integrate more technology into their classroom. The ambassadors, first and foremost, are teachers so they are fantastic to collaborate with because they know how best to complement what we are already doing,” Social Studies teacher Heather Anderson shared and Holly Rhinebolt, science teacher, added how 8th graders are also working on integrating a new space STEM program and that these workshops will really complement what she’s been working on.

This is the 2nd year, Caribou Community School teachers and MLTI ambassadors have worked to provide this day for students and the skills they have learned will definitely be utilized in the months to come.

“Their learning today is going to lead to a community project where we partnered with our Caribou Historical Society.” Kim Barnes said. “Students will be creating podcasts for the exhibits that are located there so the community will be able to hear our students tell stories of the past.” The teachers all agreed that they hope to be able to continue and expand these workshops in the years to come.