Maine Adult Education System Receives Champion of Education and Workforce Development Award

Gail Senese, Maine DOE Director of Adult Education, Lisa MacDonald Cooper, MDF Program Director, Education & Workforce, Shirley Wright, Executive Director of MAEA, and Suzanne Nowinski, President of MAEA.

At the 2019 Annual Meeting and Awards Luncheon hosted by the Maine Development Foundation (MDF), Maine’s Adult Education System, comprised of over 70 local Adult Education Programs, the Maine Department of Education’s Office of Adult Education, and the Maine Adult Education Association (MAEA), was one of six award recipients.

As part of the award presentation, MDF described the Maine Adult Education System in the following way:

Local adult education programs throughout Maine provide a range of instructional services to help adults develop the skills for further education opportunities, job training, and better employment, and to realize their full potential as productive workers, family members, and citizens. Adults seeking to further their education or advance their careers can enroll in adult education courses in literacy and adult basic education, high school completion, English language acquisition courses, Maine College Transitions, and career preparation and enrichment. Instruction is aligned with adult learners’ goals and focuses on supporting their efforts to meet the College and Career Readiness Standards. The Maine Adult Education System partners with Maine CareerCenters, local employers, higher education, and community agencies to maximize the education and training opportunities for its adult learners. And, most importantly, it embodies the very spirit of lifelong learning, which enriches individual lives and whole communities.

Accepting the award on behalf of adult education programming statewide were Gail Senese, Maine DOE Director of Adult Education, Suzanne Nowinski, President of MAEA, and Shirley Wright, Executive Director of MAEA.

GailonStage — Gail Senese, Maine DOE Director of Adult Education.

“This means so much to all of us,” said Dr. Gail Senese in an acceptance speech she gave on behalf of the Maine Adult Education System. “We see ourselves as part the economic development chain in this State, preparing people to be good workers, and good community members, and good neighbors. We thank you so much for this recognition, for not only the people who work in this field but for the people who deserve to be served.”

BackPack Team at Gorham School District Receives $25,000 Neighborhood Assist Grant

Gorham School District was one of 40 recipients nationwide to receive a $25,000 Neighborhood Assist Grant. They received the award for the efforts with their BackPack Program and School Garden, an initiative that provides food for students and families experiencing food insecurity in the community.

This past June, State Farm accepted 2,000 applications for their Neighborhood Assist grant program. Submissions represented causes from throughout the country which focused on education, safety, and community development initiatives. A review committee narrowed down the submissions to the top 200 finalists which were posted online and voted on by the public. The 40 causes with the most votes each won a $25,000 grant.

Gorham’s BackPack Team Administers weekend food and snack bags to students, offering a school food pantry at the high school, and by growing a school garden which provides fresh produce to the local food pantry during the growing season. The BackPack Program sends food home every weekend with students who would otherwise not have enough food to last through the weekend. Learn more here.

Enrollment up at Maine’s Community Colleges

The Maine Community College System announced last week that preliminary enrollment figures show a 6.3 percent increase in enrolled students this fall compared to the same time last year.

The increase is in sharp contrast to a nationwide trend of declining enrollments at two-year public colleges over the last several years. The strong showing is due in part to a number of new initiatives at the colleges aimed at attracting and retaining more students. The system also did not raise tuition for this academic year, maintaining the lowest tuition and fees in New England.

As of September 23, the system-wide headcount is up 6.3 percent (an additional 966 students) from the same date a year ago. All seven colleges report increases, the largest of which are at Eastern Maine Community College, up 10.4 percent with 2,141 students enrolled compared to 1,939 last year at this time, and at Southern Maine Community College up 8.2 percent, with 6,078 students enrolled compared to 5,618 a year ago.

At the same time, the system is also seeing a surge of participation in its short-term job training programs which are not included in the fall headcount enrollment numbers.

In the last year, the number of trainees who completed short-term training programs funded by the MCCS Maine Quality Centers (MQC) program has almost doubled to 1,602, up from 897 in the previous year. MQC works with Maine employers to provide customized training that is free to trainees and is focused on strengthening the skills of the Maine workforce.

“We’re seeing significant growth both in our programs that lead to one-year certificates and two-year degrees and in short-term training,” MCCS President David Daigler told the system’s Board of Trustees at a meeting Wednesday in Bangor. “Demand from both employers and individuals looking to gain the skills needed to compete in this new economy is exploding and stretching our ability to respond.”

The high demand for both degree programs and short-term training at Maine’s community colleges is particularly noteworthy given the state’s record low unemployment, aging demographics and widespread workforce shortages. Community college enrollment has historically been tied to the economy, going up during periods of high unemployment and declining when jobs are plentiful.

Fall enrollment increases have been driven in part by initiatives at campuses across the state. Among the new efforts are: doubling the number of visits to some high schools, replacing group orientations with one-on-one orientation sessions; reaching prospective students through texting instead of email; adding new high-demand programs including plumbing, HVAC and esports; and giving students new online tools to communicate with others to increase peer-to-peer connections.

Enrollment numbers for fall 2019 will be finalized in mid-October.

See the full release with graphics on the MCCS website.

MEDIA RELEASE: Three Maine Schools Receive National Blue Ribbon School Honors

The U.S. Department of Education today announced three Maine schools as National Blue Ribbon Schools for 2019. The recognition is based on a school’s overall academic performance or progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups. The three schools are:

Cape Elizabeth High School, Cape Elizabeth Public Schools
Fruit Street School, Bangor School Department
Yarmouth High School, Yarmouth School Department

The National Blue Ribbon Schools award affirms the hard work of educators, families and communities in creating safe and welcoming schools where students master challenging and engaging content.

Now in its 37th year, the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program has bestowed recognition on more than 9,000 schools. On November 14 and 15, the Secretary and the Department of Education will celebrate with 312 public and 50 non-public school honorees at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C.

The Department recognizes all schools in one of two performance categories, based on all student scores, student subgroup scores and graduation rates:

Exemplary High Performing Schools are among their state’s highest performing schools as measured by state assessments or nationally normed tests.
Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing Schools are among their state’s highest performing schools in closing achievement gaps between a school’s student groups and all students.

Up to 420 schools may be nominated each year. The Department invites National Blue Ribbon School nominations from the top education official in all states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Department of Defense Education Activity, and the Bureau of Indian Education. Private schools are nominated by The Council for American Private Education (CAPE).

Photographs and brief descriptions of the 2019 National Blue Ribbon Schools are available at https://www.ed.gov/nationalblueribbonschools.

For more information contact Kelli Deveaux (207) 624-6747 or kelli.deveaux@maine.gov

Medomak Valley High School Art Teacher Receives Educator Innovation Award

Medomak Valley High School Art Teacher Krisanne Baker was recently awarded awarded a Bow Seat Educator Innovation Award recently for her commitment to inspiring students to make a difference for oceans and watersheds by teaching students about ocean conservation issues and engage them in creative action. Below is a description of Krisanne’s work provided by Bow Seat:

For the past 12 years, Krisanne’s personal art practice has focused on water quality. Knowing that our lives depend on the health of the ocean, she began a conversation about climate change in her art classrooms and found that no other teachers were addressing the subject. Krisanne developed the “Gulf of Maine: Dare to Care” curriculum to teach students how to use art to make a difference, specifically in ocean advocacy. When she offered her Studio Arts class the choice to work on Bow Seat’s Ocean Awareness Contest for an entire quarter and then submit their work to the competition, the students voted unanimously to do so! They learned how to make accurate scientific illustrations of endangered Gulf of Maine marine animals, then created slumped recycled glass renditions of their creatures, which will be a part of a display traveling from the town hall to local libraries to elementary schools.

Krisanne Baker is one of six winners internationally. Read more about the Bow Seat Educator Innovation Award.

MSSM Graduate Named Air Force Academy Cadet of the Year

Submitted by Ryan McDonald, Summer Programs Director and Public Relations Coordinator at Maine School of Science and Mathematics.

Congratulations to 2016 MSSM graduate Gordon McCulloh who has just been named the 2019 United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) cadet of the year at the Air Force Association’s Air, Space, and Cyber Conference in Washington D.C.

Gordon is working on a double major in Astronautical Engineering and Applied Math with an Arabic language minor. His current 3.92 GPA ranks him academically 16 of 992 academy cadets.

Highlights of Gordon’s USAFA career thus far include four weeks studying Arabic in Morocco, a six week internship with Elon Musk’s SpaceX, research on hybrid rocket combustion, and securing a $19,000 Stamps Scholarship which he used to intern with Ad Astra Rocket Company and the Air Force Research Laboratory.

Go Gordon and Go Air Force!

Aroostook Educators Honored at Achiever Awards Gala

On Thursday, September 19, 2019 the Momentum Aroostook Awards Gala took place in Presque Isle. Established by Momentum Aroostook, the Aroostook Achievers awards recognize local professionals going above and beyond in their career.

Congratulations to three local educators who were honored in the category of education:

Deb Roark is the Executive Director of University Advancement and affairs at the University of Maine Presque Isle. She is an outstanding, goal oriented team leader. She strives to develop programs through the development of the MMG center to help students develop a professional demeanor and provides them with access to ongoing professional development.

Valerie Waldemarson is the director of the JMG program at Caribou High School. She received 5 nominations from her students. One student wrote “I would not be ready for the real world without her wisdom.” Her leadership and guidance in the development of Caribou High School’s JMG program has made her a highly regarded asset to the education of students in Aroostook County.

Ben Greenlaw has contributed to the development of strong student programs as the principal at Presque Isle High School. These include great dedication to students, training opportunities within the community and the County Bus Tour program for students to promote the area and build collaboration among students and the community. Ben has moved to the Assistant Superintendent role in Presque Isle and will be assuming the Superintendent position in January 2020 where he is certain to continue to develop students aspirations.

Congratulations to all of the awardees!

Greely High School Ed Tech Awarded Local High Honor

Greely High School Special Education, Education Technician Eliza Miller was honored recently at an award ceremony at MSAD 51 for being named Employee of the Year.

Recognized for her one-on-one work with students, her support for teachers, and her willingness to jump in and volunteer outside of the classroom, Eliza was praised by her colleagues during the ceremony.

“Without Eliza Miller, I could not serve my students as a teacher in the best ways I possibly can. Because she cares so much about the special ed students and pushes them to succeed to the best of their ability and shows this by collaborating, and sharing invaluable tools with staff (as well as students). Her years of experience and positivity leads the students to benefit hugely from her structured approach and optimism – which wears off on the students beyond the classroom.”

“She truly exemplifies the phrase, ‘going above and beyond,’ both in the world of education, and in her compassion and humanity in general.”

Educational technicians play a pivotal role in the classroom by providing supportive educational services for students in K-12 schools and instruction for children with disabilities. They specialize in individualized or small group guided instruction, assistance in special education and the regular classrooms, and also help manage student behavior. Education technicians are a critical part of each and every school in Maine and to our education system as a whole.

Being an education technician is an enjoyable, challenging, and rewarding profession that often-times blossoms into a life-long career as an educator. To learn more about how to become an education technician in Maine, please visit Maine DOE’s Certification web page where you will find links to information about requirements by ed tech level, how to complete the certification application process, fingerprinting, and how to check application status. For further information contact our certification team at 207-624-6603 or cert.doe@maine.gov.

Dedham School Receives Riding for Focus Mountain Biking Grant

Submitted by Tim Pearson, Physical Education/Health Teacher at Dedham School, part of AOS #47.

Dedham School is excited to announce it is a grant recipient for the 2019-2020 Specialized Foundation Riding for Focus school program.

Riding for Focus is a school-based program designed to provide schools with everything they need to get middle school students riding bikes, including a turnkey physical education curriculum, comprehensive teacher training, and a fleet of bike and safety equipment.

Riding for Focus provides a combination of cycling, fitness, and academic performance, all while instilling a lifelong passion for cycling for students who participate in the program.

Additionally, the program explores and tracks how cycling can positively affect student learning, health, and wellbeing with a focus for those with learning differences such as ADHD. Starting this fall, mountain biking will be a regular part of all middle school students curriculum.

For more information contact Tim Pearson at tpearson@dedhamschool.net or 207-843-6498 or check out this YouTube Video about Riding for Focus School Cycling Program.

Hampden Academy Recognized for their Dedication to Creating a Climate of Inclusion

Submitted by Cindy Carlisle, Student Data Specialist for Regional School Unit 22.

Hampden Academy in RSU 22 was named on ESPN Honor Roll for 2019 — a list of top 34 schools from across the country — as part of its Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools National Recognition Program.

A “Unified Champion School” is one that has demonstrated commitment to inclusion by meeting 10 national standards of excellence developed by a panel of leaders from Special Olympics and the education community.

The aim of Unified Champion Schools is to incorporate Special Olympics sports, leadership and related activities that empower the youth to be the agents of change in their communities. shifting the focus from the events to that of a whole school movement for inclusion. Special education and general education students — along with educators and administrators — are encouraged to work together to create supportive classrooms, schoolwide activities and opportunities for growth and success for all.

See the full list here