Teachers, guidance counselors, administrators, bus drivers and others responsible for student welfare in schools are required by Maine law to report to their supervisors or to the Maine Department of Health and Human Services whenever they have reasonable cause to suspect child abuse or neglect has occurred.
Continue reading “Online training available for reporting abuse, neglect”
Freeman Hrabowski III, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), was the keynote speaker at the Maine School of Science and Mathematics’ (MSSM’s) second annual STEM—also known as science, technology, engineering and mathematics—Collaborative Educators’ Camp. Continue reading “One of Time’s “2012 Most Influential People” speaks to Maine’s STEM educators”
Update 9/10/13: The introduction/overview of the Maine DOE school nutrition programs has been canceled. Department staff will contact registrants to make other arrangements.
Maine DOE School Nutrition Programs staff will be offering a four-hour introduction/overview of the team’s nutrition-related programs, including the School Breakfast Program, Lunch Program, Afterschool Snack Program, Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, Summer Food Service Program and U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Program.
Continue reading “Update: Introduction of school nutrition programs canceled”
The Maine DOE Office of Special Services is offering regional professional development sessions in evidence-based practices this fall. In addition to ongoing technical assistance, the Department will be providing professional development to each of the nine superintendent regions regarding the instructional usage and Individualized Education Program (IEP) goal alignment of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in English language arts and mathematics for children with disabilities. General and special educators are invited to attend.
Continue reading “Educators encouraged to attend Common Core and IEP goal-writing training”
A school administrative unit or a publicly-supported secondary school may request funding from the National Board Certification Scholarship Fund on behalf of teachers who meet the requirements. This fund encourages teachers to apply to and enroll in the certification program offered by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards or its successor organization.
Continue reading “Request funding for National Board Certified Teacher Scholarship”
Department of Labor responds to federal mandate with free online training video
AUGUSTA – All employees in the state of Maine—in both the private and public sectors—must be trained in the federal Occupation Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA’s) new Global Harmonization System Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) by Dec. 1. As part of this federal mandate, schools and districts are responsible for training their staff on GHS and must be able to demonstrate compliance upon inspection.
Continue reading “All districts and schools must train staff in Global Harmonization System”
Arlington, VA — The newest members of the Maine State Board of Education are back from two days of intensive training from the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) to help board members become highly effective state education policymakers.
William H. Beardsley, of Ellsworth, Nichi Farnham, of Bangor, Peter Geiger, of Lewiston, and Ande A. Smith, of North Yarmouth, joined state board members from 17 states and territories in sessions that covered basic boardsmanship issues such as the responsibilities of boards and their members, the sequence of policy development and using Robert’s Rules of Order, as well as more advanced subjects such as how to provide effective state leadership through board actions.
Continue reading “State Ed Board members complete national policy training”
Following the launch of the Maine School Performance Grading System, we’ve spent our time reaching out to underperforming and at-risk schools to learn more about their challenges and the supports they’d like Maine DOE to provide.
What we continue to hear is that schools want to learn from other Maine schools that are like them. In the words of one school leader, “Tell us what’s working in other places with similar populations and budget concerns.” That’s the thinking behind our Center for Best Practice, which provides success stories (and videos) from schools in our state implementing learner-centered instructional practices. Continue reading “Opportunities for sharing your school success story”
Last week I had the privilege of attending the 21st Annual Model Schools Conference down in Washington, D.C. Put on by the International Center for Leadership in Education, this year’s conference provided teachers and educational leaders, including many from Maine, with practical ideas for increasing student achievement and ensuring college and career readiness in an age of declining resources and higher standards.
Continue reading “Successful schools use data to focus improvement efforts”
Resources available online
The Maine DOE collaborated with the Association of Teachers of Mathematics in Maine (ATOMIM) in organizing a series of two-session “Dine and Discuss” events this spring to share information about the Smarter Balanced assessments and Maine’s role as a governing state in the consortium.
Continue reading “Maine math teachers prepare for coming assessments”
Maine DOE Newsroom 