Web-based course prepares educators for mass-casualty incidents

The Federal Emergency Management Agency offers a three-hour, web-based training that provides leading practices and resources to assist elementary and secondary schools, institutions of higher education and houses of worship in developing emergency plans. The training, titled “Preparing for Mass-Casualty Incidents: A Guide for Schools, Higher Education and Houses of Worship,” will help audiences prepare for, respond to and recover from mass-casualty incidents.

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ACCESS for ELLs® to provide media-based listening test

Beginning this testing year, the listening test of Assessing Comprehension and Communications in English State to State for English Language Learners (ACCESS for ELLs®) will be media-based, meaning that all listening items for all tiers and grades 1-12 are prerecorded. Rather than listening to the test administrator read the scripted items as in the past, the students will listen to a recording. This allows for students to listen to more authentic language use, such as conversations involving more than one speaker.

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Attend technology in schools conference

Maine teachers, administrators and school technology experts are invited to attend the Association of Computer Technology Educators in Maine (ACTEM) conference to improve technology use in the classroom. This year’s theme, “‘X’ Marks the Spot – Destination Learning,” aims to investigate the evolving landscape of technology in schools.

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Maine’s 2013-14 ACCESS for ELLs® testing cycle available

As part of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act, all Maine schools annually assess the English language proficiency (ELP) of their English learners in kindergarten through grade 12 using Assessing Comprehension and Communications in English State to State for English Language Learners (ACCESS for ELLs®), a standards-based ELP assessment common throughout the state. The testing cycle for 2013-14 is as follows: Continue reading “Maine’s 2013-14 ACCESS for ELLs® testing cycle available” →

Learn to engage students with Next Gen Science Standards

Teachers and curriculum leaders are invited to attend the Maine Curriculum Leaders’ Association conference on the Framework for K-12 Science and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) held Oct. 21-22. The event, “Engaging All Students with the NGSS,” will feature Brett Moulding, nationally-recognized NGSS implementation expert, as well as Maine science teachers.

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Discover alternative interventions for at-risk students

Teachers, administrators, school counselors and mental health specialists are invited to attend the third annual Lives in the Balance summit, “There’s a Better Way,” which focuses on non-confrontational interventions for at-risk children.

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Cross Disciplinary Literacy Network registration now open

K-12 educators are invited to register for the 2013-14 Cross Discipline Literacy Network (CDLN), which provides professional learning related to literacy instruction across content areas through both webinar technology and face-to-face networking sessions. This professional development initiative grew out of a recommendation in the State Literacy Plan. You can obtain all of the details about CDLN at www.maine.gov/doe/literacy-for-me.

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Science teachers needed for graph literacy pilot project

The Concord Consortium is recruiting 10 seventh- and eighth-grade science teachers for the Piloting Graph Literacy Activities in Maine project, funded by the National Science Foundation. During the past year, four pilot Maine teachers used more than 50 class sessions trying and commenting on new instructional materials designed to help students understand graphs, which are an important component of the Next Generation Science Standards and are used often in science (and math) textbooks, as well as newspapers and magazines.

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Maine DOE releases updated math web pages

In an effort to better serve Maine’s mathematics teachers, Maine DOE has updated its math web pages at www.maine.gov/doe/math/ so they are more user-friendly and provide expanded resources to support educators in their local implementation of Maine’s standards.

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Updated: Schools, districts invited to participate in Smarter Balanced field test

Updated Oct. 8: The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium has noticed a weak trend in high school registration for the field test. To have a sound assessment, it is imperative that Smarter Balanced obtain a sufficient number of students in all tested grade levels. Please register your school by the Oct. 15 deadline.

Maine schools will have the opportunity to participate in the spring 2014 field test of the Smarter Balanced assessment in preparation for the full spring 2015 administration of the test. This is an opportunity for students to gain hands-on experience with the new test design and for teachers and administrators to gain exposure to the logistics and prepare for a smooth transition to the new assessment.

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