As part of its work to support schools in their awarding of proficiency-based diplomas, the Maine DOE is developing sample performance assessments of Maine’s Guiding Principles. The goal of this work is to create a repository of performance assessments that provide student demonstrations of proficiency across a variety of content areas.
More than 200 visual and performing arts educators attended the biennial statewide conference, Arts Education: Leading the Way, held at the University of Maine in October. The Maine Arts Assessment Initiative (MAAI), established by the Maine DOE in 2011, enlisted its teacher leaders to present 35 professional development workshops at this event.
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Nominations are now open for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) 2013-14 competition, sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Continue reading “Nominate K-6 math and science teachers for national awards”
More than 200 Maine special educators and representatives of the Maine Departments of Education, Vocational Rehabilitation, and Health and Human Services recently participated in evidence-based professional development for the State Personnel Development Grant (SPDG).
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The Maine DOE’s Literacy for ME initiative recently hosted a Critical Friends meeting to share its accomplishments and offer guidance for ongoing implementation efforts. This meeting marked the first-year implementation anniversary of Literacy for ME, a statewide initiative intended to bolster literacy learning opportunities across the birth to adult span. Literacy for ME includes a State literacy plan that promotes state-level literacy education efforts as well as the development of community-based literacy teams.
Continue reading “Literacy for ME reports on accomplishments”
The Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship Program seeks experienced and distinguished K-12 educators in fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) to serve an 11-month fellowship appointment in a federal agency or U.S. Congressional office.
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Improving educator effectiveness is the single most important action we can take for our students. Study after study shows that students who are assigned to effective teachers and school leaders make noticeably more academic progress than those who are not.
Continue reading “Ensuring an effective educator in every Maine classroom”
In order to implement additional mandates by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently published the Smart Snacks in School standards for all foods sold in school outside the school meals programs. These are practical, science-based standards for foods sold in vending machines and à la carte lines — standards that make the healthy choice the easy choice for students.
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As part of the Maine DOE’s ongoing commitment to helping our schools improve, we have launched a completely redesigned gifted and talented section of our website.
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The Maine DOE is proposing a new rule to implement the teacher and principal effectiveness law enacted in 2012. The proposed rule is Chapter 180, “Performance Evaluation and Professional Growth Systems.”
Continue reading “Notice of proposed new educator evaluation rule”
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