Category: Professional Learning

REMINDER: Register Now for Early Childhood Summer Regional Summit Events With Mini Grant Opportunity

The Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), in partnership with the Maine Department of Education (DOE), was awarded a Preschool Development Renewal Grant (PDG) from the US Department of Health and Human Services in December of 2022. With this three-year grant, the state is implementing initiatives to build greater infrastructure and capacity to create a more coordinated, efficient, and high-quality mixed delivery system for children ages birth to eight and their families. The plan builds upon successful cross-agency work to ensure that all children enter Kindergarten prepared to succeed and are well supported during the early elementary years.

Included in this grant is the opportunity for a summer summit series in 2024 and 2025 to support communities in their local system alignment and coordination for early childhood care and education programming from birth through the early elementary years.  Teams accepted to participate in the summit will also be awarded $800 mini grants to support their efforts in developing and implementing action plans to address an identified early care and education need in their communities.

The goals of the Early Childhood Summit include:

  • Fostering community level coordination and collaboration across the mixed-delivery early care and education system, which includes child care programs, head start and elementary schools, to improve alignment and transitions for children and families.
  • Strengthening understanding of evidence-based practices that are critical to leverage across the birth-grade 3 span in order to promote whole child development.
  • Supporting community-based planning and implementation efforts through mini-grants and ongoing technical assistance support.

What will the summit structure be like? 

The content of the summit will include a variety of keynote addresses and workshop sessions connected to the goals outlined previously.  Topics will include promoting inclusionary practices and addressing challenging behaviors, promoting play as a foundational learning strategy,  and promoting smooth transitions from early childhood education programs into public schools for children and families.  Time will also be provided for teams to work collaboratively on action planning.

When will the summits be held? 

The 1-day summits will be held in two regions (see dates/locations below).  Teams will apply to attend in one of the two locations.  The summits will run from 8:30 a.m.- 4:00 p.m.

  • Thursday, July 11, 2024, Keeley’s Banquet Center, 178 Warren Avenue, Portland, Maine
  • Tuesday, July 16, 2024, Jeff’s Catering & Event Center, 15 Event Center Way, Brewer, Maine

What are the requirements of participation for all team members?

All team members will be expected to participate in the professional development and technical assistance components outlined below.

The components include: Projected timeline:
One check in meeting prior to the July 2024 Summit   June 2024
Attendance and participation at Summer Summit July 2024   July 11 or 16, 2024
Bi-annual consult with the Departments (1/2)   Fall 2024
Bi-annual consult with the Departments (2/2)   Winter 2025
Attendance and participation at Summer Summit in July 2025   July 2025

 

What is the composition of teams?

Teams may have up to five members.  There must be at least:

  • one public early elementary school educator and
  • one child care provider/educator represented (family child care and/or child care center) on the team.

The additional three members may include but are not limited to:

  • Representative of the local business community
  • Parent of a child using early childhood services
  • School Administrator
  • Home Visitor
  • Mental health care provider
  • Head Start Representative
  • Health care provider
  • Community librarian
  • Representative of an organization that supports workforce development
  • Provider of services under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Part B or Part C
  • Provider of professional development to early care and education professionals
  • A faculty member of a career and technical center or higher education institution specializing in early childhood, if available

How will the mini grants work?

Each team will receive an eight-hundred-dollar ($800) grant to support their action planning and implementation work over the first year. Another min-grant will be available following successful completion of the first year and participation in 2025 summit.

To apply: 

Complete the application found here (Word Doc) and return all documents electronically by April 30, 2024 to Andrea Faurot at Andrea.Faurot@maine.gov.

All team members must sign an agreement ensuring team participation.

For additional information, please reach out to Renee Reilly, Maine DOE PDG Manager at Renee.A.Reilly@maine.gov or Andrea Faurot, OCFS PDG Manager at Andrea.Faurot@maine.gov.

Inclusive Classroom Book Study for Maine Early Care and Education Professionals (serving Birth-Grade 3)

The Maine Department of Education (DOE) has partnered with Maine Roads to Quality Professional Development Network and the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Office of Child and Family Services to offer a no-cost book study for Maine early care and education professionals (serving children birth-Grade 3) interested in creating more inclusive classrooms.

In the early childhood classroom, inclusion means that all children, regardless of their individual characteristics, have equitable access to educational opportunities and environments where they are equally safe, valued, and respected.  Early care and education programs that prioritize inclusion benefit everyone, including children, teachers, parents, and communities.

This book study is one of the professional growth opportunities available at no cost to Maine early care and education professionals as part of the Maine Inclusion Initiative funded through Maine’s Preschool Development Renewal Grant. Participants in the book study will read and reflect on Inclusion Includes Us: Building Bridges and Removing Barriers in Early Childhood Classrooms (Huber, 2023). The book study will occur over a 6-week span, meeting weekly for 75 minutes. Three 6-week sessions are being offered as options (see schedule below).

This professional learning opportunity is open to all early care and education professionals from public and private preschool schools, early elementary schools, childcare centers, and family childcare providers.

Session Options

Session 1:
May 13 – June 24 (no session May 27th)
Mondays 5:45 – 7:00

Session 2:
Aug 13 – Sept 17
Tuesdays   3:45-5:00

Session 3:
October 16-Nov 20
Wednesdays 12-1

To apply to be part of one of the above book study sessions, please fill out the following form found at this link: Inclusion Book Club. Space is limited, so please complete the application by April 30, 2024.   Applications will be processed, and participants will be notified by May 3rd. Books will be shipped to participants and contact hours will be provided for the time in the book study.

If you have questions or need additional information, please reach out to Nicole Madore, Maine DOE Early Childhood Specialist at Nicole.Madore@maine.gov or Renee Reilly, Maine DOE PDG Manager at Renee.A.Reilly@maine.gov.

Upcoming Data Reporting Webinars

The Maine Department of Education (DOE) Data Team has scheduled  the following data reporting webinars for this spring.

Maine Schools Webinar – April 30th at 10:00 am – Register Here

Maine School Approval provides Maine DOE the attestation from districts that all Maine statutory requirements are being met by each LEA. This report offers an opportunity to update the LEA & school contact information to ensure that MDOE has the most current information. Student enrollments cannot be uploaded/entered into Synergy until Maine Schools is complete. This webinar will review the requirements for the Maine Schools process.

ESEA Demographics Report Webinar – May 14th at 10:00 am – Register Here

The ESEA Demographics Report is an aggregation of students enrolled on 05/27 for participation in state assessments during the current assessment administration. This report includes student demographic categories for assessment and accountability purposes. This webinar will review reporting requirements and navigation of the ESEA Demographics Report in NEO.

EOY Reporting Webinar – May 21st at 10:00 am – Register Here

Daily Attendance, Truancy, Behavior, and Bullying reports are due for final certification at the end of the school year. This data is aggregated for public reporting after certification and reported in multiple locations including the Maine Department of Education Data Warehouse, ESSA Dashboard, and federal reporting. This report will review requirements for each of these four (4) reports and navigation of the reports in NEO.

EOY Enrollment Exits Webinar – May 28th at 10:00 am – Register Here

All students, even those intending to return next year, must be exited from Synergy at the conclusion of the school year. This webinar will review recommendations for properly exiting students at the conclusion of the school year and the process for exiting students from State Synergy.

Special Education Exit Report Webinar – June 4th 10:00 am – Register Here

Students who have exited special education services during the reporting period (July 1, through June 30) must have special education exit information (a special ed exit date and exit reason) added to their Special Education enrollments in Synergy State Edition. School Administrative Units (SAUs) are required to certify the exit data using the Special Education Exit Report found in NEO. This webinar will review the requirements and process for Special Education Exit Reporting.

Questions about data reporting webinars can be sent to Alexandra.Cookson@maine.gov

Earn Contact Hours from Internationally Recognized, Innovative Educators

The Maine Department of Education is thrilled to offer a limited-time, self-directed course that includes three keynotes and three workshops from John Spencer, Katie Novak, and Lynn Cuccaro, world-class leaders in innovative education!  

The rich professional learning opportunities were recorded at the InnovatED: Igniting Innovation in Education Day held by the Maine DOE MOOSE and Interdisciplinary Instruction Teams. All sessions provided actionable elements that can be applied immediately in your classroom to boost innovative learning (and decrease stress in the process). Topics included Universal Design for Learning, Designing for Equity, Cultivating Curiosity, Pedagogical Documentation, Design Thinking, and Project-Based Learning.

Check out the InnovatED: Igniting Innovation in Education webpage on the Maine DOE website for more information on enrolling and receiving contact hours before the course expires on June 30th.  

Webinar: Great Books for Maine Classrooms

Teachers love books and this webinar is designed to highlight books found to have great value in Maine classrooms.

Hosted by Maine DOE Maine DOE Humanities Teacher Fellowship Team – James St. Pierre and Dorie Tripp, this webinar will offer book suggestions for a variety of content covering all grade levels. Topics will include elementary books and authors, middle-grade series, high-interest writers from Maine, books written by women with female protagonists, books by black and brown authors, graphic novels, nonfiction titles, and many more.

We encourage you to bring your own suggestions and hope you can join us!

For further information, reach our to Maine DOE Humanities Teacher Fellowship Team – James St. Pierre and Dorie Tripp at James.St.Pierre.@maine.gov and Dorie.Tripp@maine.gov