PROFESSIONAL LEARNING: The Rural Experience in America Inquiry

Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources (K-12 grade educators)

Funded by a grant from the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources program, NCHE is proud to announce a 3-part colloquium for teachers focusing on Rural America. These free professional learning opportunities will help teachers develop place-based interdisciplinary units that connect students to their rural communities. Additionally, the Maine Department of Education will be hosting a bi-weekly professional learning community to support educators through these NCHE modules. The PLC will incorporate the work developed by the MDOE interdisciplinary instruction specialists.

The program is designed to:

engage rural teachers in a deep examination of rural history and the impact of agricultural change on children, families, and communities in the United States:
connect teachers with the Library Congress’s collections on rural history and with local rural historical societies so they can situate local history in the larger human experience;
support teachers in the design and implementation of works of public value that connect rural students to their community’s history
The Right Question Institute will be leading a 4-week session on the Question Formulation Technique (QFT) with a focus on working with rural students

Educators may complete all or part of the 3-part colloquium.

Part A – Free, asynchronous, online modules. (Dec 1-March 31)
Part B – Free, synchronous, online colloquia. (Feb 25, April 15, May 6)
Part C – Summer Colloquium. Details TBD

Register here for these NCHE events. When you register with NCHE, you will receive a follow-up from the Maine DOE to register into our Maine PLC.

Information Sessions with the NCHE will be held on:

November 14, 3pm (Register here)
November 15, 3:30pm (Register here)

For more information, please contact Jaime Beal, Interdisciplinary Instruction Specialist, at  jaime.beal@maine.gov.

Human Trafficking Webinar Series – Protecting Young People from Online Exploitation

Since 2020, the U.S. Department of Education has conducted a webinar series to address the growing response of America’s schools to child trafficking. The series draws attention to the important efforts underway in our nation’s education community to address both sex and labor trafficking.

On behalf of the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Office of Safe and Supportive Schools, the National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments (NCSSLE) invites you to join the next webinar in this series, Protecting Young People from Online Exploitation.

Date: Wednesday, October 26, 2022

Time: 3:00 – 4:30 pm EDT

This webinar is focused on understanding what online exploitation is and how schools can protect young people from it. Speakers will start by defining what online exploitation is – describing how it is facilitated via technology and how online human trafficking compares with online sexual abuse – and then share what you can look out for and do if it is happening. Following a set of presentations, the speakers will engage in a panel discussion to share how they implemented mitigation strategies and how schools can educate young people to recognize grooming and other dangerous online behavior. After the panel, the speakers will be available to answer a few questions from participants. Join us to learn strategies you can use tomorrow!

Speakers/Panelists

Ruth Ryder, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, U.S. Department of Education
Jennifer O’Brien, Assistant Professor, Crimes Against Children Research Center, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH
Wendy Walsh, Research Associate, Crimes Against Children Research Center, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH
Stacey Robinson, Manager, Project-Grant Fund, Division of Equity and Student Empowerment, DeKalb County School District, Stone Mountain, GA
Dr. Nicole Prad-Jennings, Human Trafficking Prevention/Not a Number Facilitator, DeKalb County School District, Stone Mountain, GA
Dave Alley, Special Agent, U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement, Detroit, MI
Rachel Thomas, Member, U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking, Person with Lived Experience

Webinar Materials

Speaker Bios (Coming Soon on October 26)
Slides (Coming Soon on October 26)
Recording (Coming Soon on October 27)
Transcript (Coming Soon on October 28)

Registration

You must register to participate in this presentation.

Register

Please contact NCSSLE if you have any questions.

National Summit on K-12 School Safety and Security Summit – Nov. 1-3

The Maine Department of Education supports Cyber Awareness Month. The National Summit on K-12 School Safety and Security Summit includes CYBERSECURITY AND ONLINE SAFETY. Please consider attending!

November 1-3, 2022 @ 2:00-4:00pm

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) will host the inaugural National Summit on K-12 School Safety and Security on November 1-3, 2022. This three-day, virtual event will convene school safety experts, practitioners, and leaders from across the country to discuss current threats in school safety and explore research-informed strategies for addressing security challenges and risks in K-12 schools.

Sessions are planned for all members of the K-12 community and will include keynote remarks, one-on-one interviews, and panel discussions on issues such as targeted violence, violence prevention, cybersecurity, online safety, emergency planning, and physical security. The event is designed to foster a nationwide dialogue on school safety, as well as equip school stakeholders and personnel with resources, training, and expertise to apply in their local school settings and communities.

ABOUT THE SUMMIT

The Summit is a free, virtual event that combines discussion, education, networking, and knowledge-sharing among federal, state, and local school safety stakeholders. Through the event, attendees will hear from government, private sector, and community leaders in the field, who will speak about current and critical school safety issues, threats, and solutions.

EVENT DETAILS

The Summit will be held virtually over the course of three days in November. Each day will consist of a two-hour session centered around the themes of violence prevention (Day 1); cybersecurity and online safety (Day 2); and physical security (Day 3).

Additional event details include:

Dates: November 1-3, 2022
Time: 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. ET
Location: Held virtually via Microsoft Teams (access link to be provided to all registrants)
Registration Information: The Summit is open to all interested parties and there is no cost to attend. Registration is required for planning purposes.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

The Summit is open to anyone with a passion for improving school safety. K-12 educators, administrators, principals, school-based law enforcement, mental health professionals, policymakers, cybersecurity experts, community liaisons, and other school safety and security professionals are especially encouraged to attend.

Register here

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Additional details, including confirmed speakers and a final agenda, will be shared when available. If you have any questions, please contact the CISA School Safety Task Force at SchoolSafety@hq.dhs.gov.

Free Virtual On-Demand Financial Education Training for Maine Educators

The Finance Authority of Maine (FAME) and the Center for Financial Literacy at Champlain College, in partnership with the Maine Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy and its sponsors, the Office of the Maine State Treasurer, and Next Gen Personal Finance (NGPF), is offering free online and on-demand training for Maine teachers.

The Financial Educator Virtual Academy will train Maine educators on how to successfully teach personal finance in their classrooms and communities. Educators will receive contact hours for each course module attended, and the first 100 Maine classroom teachers to complete all seven hours of training will receive a $50 Amazon gift card.

The online course offering is available starting October 12, 2022 and will close on December 16, 2022. The goal of this training is to support educators as they work to ensure that all Maine students have access to high-quality personal financial education. Maine educators can earn up to seven hours of professional development training and receive suggestions for grade-appropriate personal finance classroom resources over the duration of the virtual academy.

During the virtual academy, which features nationally known experts, participants will learn how to implement the JumpStart National Standards in K-12 Financial Personal Finance Education. These standards allow for the teaching of personal finance in an interdisciplinary or stand-alone manner.

Interested educators may register for the program with this link.

Download a flyer for distribution

For further questions contact Maine Jumpstart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy at info@mejumpstart.org

WORKSHOP: Creating a Restorative Code of Conduct

As schools continue to adjust to a post-pandemic educational reality, teachers, administrators and students struggle to rebuild a sense of community and safety while undesirable behavior continues to escalate. The Maine School Safety Center, a division of the Maine DOE, believes that the development of an intentional community based on Restorative Practices is the best way to build a sense of safety, equity and belonging, while also responding to behavior in a victim centered, nonpunitive manner that encourages accountability, and restoration to individuals and community.

Restorative Practices in schools work best when initiated using a top-down approach, starting with consensus from all stake holders, followed by a review of district or school-based codes of conduct to ensure that both restorative language and restorative response to undesirable behavior is the standard. Analysis of current policies also allows for modifications that ensure equity for all students, regardless of race, ethnicity, academic ability or socio-economic status.

With this in mind, the Maine School Safety Center will begin our Restorative Practices training with a free of charge workshop, led by Stacey Barlow, Restorative Practices Coordinator of the MSSC and John Hudson, nationally recognized Restorative Code of Conduct expert, designed to help schools evaluate their current code of conduct through an equity lens and then integrate restorative policy and language, the foundation of building a restorative school culture. A Restorative Code of Conduct will put your school or district in alignment with Maine law, as described below:

15-A. School disciplinary policies. When revising the prescribed consequences for violation of the student code of conduct pursuant to subsection 15, paragraph C, a school board shall consider districtwide disciplinary policies that:

B. Focus on positive and restorative interventions that are consistent with evidence-based practices rather than set punishments for specific behavior and avoid so-called zero-tolerance practices unless specifically required by federal or state laws, rules or regulations. For the purpose of this paragraph, “restorative interventions” means school practices that are designed to strengthen relationships, improve the connection to school and promote a strong sense of accountability and that help students learn from their mistakes, understand the impact of their actions on others and find opportunities to repair the harm they have caused through their misbehavior; [PL 2011, c. 614, §7 (NEW).]

Workshop dates/times (same workshop offered in three locations):

Monday, November 7, 2022 – USM Portland 9AM – 4PM
Wednesday, November 9, 2022 – Augusta Civic Center 9AM – 4PM
Thursday, November 10, 2022 – University of Maine, Bangor 9AM – 4 PM

All workshops are free for Maine Educators – Register for Workshops Here

For questions, please contact Stacey Barlow at Stacey.Barlow@Maine.gov (207)446-8313

Professional Learning Opportunity: Teacher Leaders – Planning with the WIDA English Language Development Standards

English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teachers, coordinators/directors, Ed Techs, tutors, and instructional coaches are invited to join the Maine Department of Education and WIDA for a hybrid workshop on planning with the WIDA English Language Development (ELD) Standards!

This hybrid workshop is designed to support ESOL educators in providing local professional development and support for using the WIDA ELD Standards Framework (2020 edition) to plan instruction at the unit level. This workshop is for you if you can answer “yes” to any of these questions:

Have you been asked to provide professional development about the WIDA ELD Standards Framework (2020 edition) to educators in your school or district?
Do you engage in co-planning with content/classroom educators on a regular basis?
Do you have experience evaluating and/or designing content lessons and units?
Do you have a strong background in the WIDA Standards system and in working with multilingual learners?

Participants who complete the workshop will receive an invitation to join a consortium-wide pilot community of practice with quarterly activities and collaborative online discussions.

There will be a live virtual session on 11/30/22 from 3-4pm, followed by an in-person workshop on 12/6/22 from 9am-3pm in Augusta. Register here.

If you have any questions about this professional learning opportunity, contact April Perkins, ESOL & Bilingual Programs Specialist, at april.perkins@maine.gov or (207)441-9043.

Book Study – Finding Your Blind Spots: 8 Guiding Principles for Overcoming Implicit Bias in Teaching

Join the Maine Department of Education’s (DOE) Office of School and Student Supports (O3S) as they read and reflect on Finding Your Blind Spots: 8 Guiding Principles for Overcoming Implicit Bias in Teaching, by Hedreich Nichols. Members of the Maine DOE not only introduced this book study to participants at the Educator’s Summit in early August, but they also introduced participants to the author! Hedreich Nichols is an educator, writer, and passionate advocate who is sharing her lived experiences with readers and participants of this book study so that we can be reflective practitioners and can truly understand bias. You can also find her work at #Smallbites. The O3S first heard Nichols’ work on Jennifer Gonzalez’s podcast: Uncovering Your Implicit Biases: An Exercise for Teachers | Cult of Pedagogy.

This opportunity is open to all Maine educational personnel. Sessions are being held on Thursdays – either at 3:30 in the afternoon or 7:00 in the evening. Participants are welcome to join for both! October 6th is our first offering, and we will be reflecting on chapters 1-3.

Check out the authors website to learn more about the book. For any questions about this opportunity, please direct those to O3S Director Julie Smyth at julie.a.smyth@maine.gov.

Health Ed. and Physical Ed. Inclusive Teaching Practices and Learning Workshop to be Held in December – Register Now!

The September Health Education and Physical Education Inclusive Teaching Practices and Learning Workshop dates are being postponed. The first sessions will now be held in December.

HE & PE Inclusive Teaching Practices and Learning Professional Development

Have you taken a look at your curriculum and teaching practices with the lens of inclusion?
Are your materials representative of all students and their families?
Are your practices and the language you use inclusive of all your students and their families?
Do you even know what to look for?

The Maine Department of Education (DOE) Health Education & Physical Education (HE & PE) Program will host a professional development opportunity this year focused on learning more about diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and the impact on teaching practices. The training will start with an exploration and understanding of foundational concepts in DEI then teachers will be led through a process for doing a deep dive into their own curriculum, instructional strategies and classroom management practices. Following the trainings, video sessions for follow-up conversations and technical assistance will be held.

We are excited to have Dr. Sarah Benes (she, her, hers), as our co-trainer and consultant on these trainings. Sarah is an assistant professor at Southern Connecticut State University in health education and physical education, co-owner of Lighthouse Wellness and Health Education Consulting, and SHAPE America President-Elect. We are pleased to have some of Maine’s HE & PE Teacher Leaders also co-training with us this year.

This is a two-day training and attendees must commit to both days. There will be at least three opportunities offered throughout this school year. The first one is open for registration. Thursday and Friday, December 1 & 2 in Augusta (Please note we may change the training format due to the shortage of substitutes.)

The fee for this training is ONLY $40 to cover the cost of food. All other expenses are being funded by the Maine DOE.

A book study will be held this fall to begin to explore and understand issues of diversity, equity and inclusion. This is not required to attend the two-day workshop.

For further information and questions contact Susan Berry at susan.berry@maine.gov and/or Jean Zimmerman at Jean.zimmerman@maine.gov.

The White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health: Calling Maine’s Anti-Hunger Advocates

Join other educators and advocates to learn about the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health and review federally recognized innovations & data-driven solutions. Then, join with local multidisciplinary teams to collaborate on opportunities specific to your region and make a commitment to eliminating disparities.

Date: September 28, 2022
Time: 3:30pm
Facilitator: Rebekah Sousa

Outcomes:

You will be able to define food security
You will consider the 5 Pillars of the conference and apply them to the State of Maine, Counties, and/or Local Communities.
You will have models for strengthening food security within communities
You will network with like-minded individuals across sectors and specialties to create more holistic and thoughtful approaches for the specific challenges in Maine.

Audience: School staff, administration, and school stakeholders

For further questions, reach out to Rebekah Sousa at Rebekah.Sousa@maine.gov.

Introducing the Maine Association for Improving Literacy (MAIL) – a Statewide Literacy Network

Literacy, as defined by the Maine Department of Education, is the ability to construct and convey meaning for a variety of purposes through an array of contextual forms and symbols, including reading, writing, speaking, listening, and viewing.

Literacy advocate and expert Pam Allyn says, “Reading is like breathing in and writing is like breathing out.”

We can blend these thoughts to substantiate literacy as the overarching key to educational equity which enables communication and comprehension. Literacy achievement is pivotal for ensuring students have access to the world of today and tomorrow, The Maine DOE has launched a Literacy Network to strengthen statewide literacy educational practices.

During the Spring of 2022, an introductory meeting began the process of envisioning the possibilities, priorities, and efforts of the Maine Association for Improving Literacy (MAIL). This network, open to all educators and those interested in improving literacy education efforts to benefit students, is being developed to strengthen statewide literacy practices. The Maine DOE plans to facilitate this group through:

professional text and article studies,
opportunities to share problems of practice,
conversations across the state,
sharing resources,
state updates, and
development of professional presentations for the benefit of all of Maine’s educators, schools, districts, and communities.

The attendees at the introductory meeting began the process of visioning what a literacy network might set for goals and products. The hopes of this group included:

Ensuring children can read and love to read.
Developing outcomes to address the needs and diversity of Maine’s current population.
Supporting districts, teachers, specialists, etc. to build common ground, common language, common knowledge that leads to greater continuity of practice across the state of Maine.

As the new school year begins, MAIL will move forward, continuing to build vision and purpose. Plans for this year include:

Holding monthly meetings, beginning in October. The tentative schedule for 2022-2023 School Year is as follows.
Second Thursday of each month from 3:30 pm-4:30 pm:
- October 13, 2022
- November 10, 2022
- December 8, 2022
- January 12, 2023
- February 9, 2023
- March 9, 2023
- April 13, 2023
- May 11, 2023
- June 8, 2023
Offering 2 text study opportunities to spark discussion.
Identifying the needs across the state and developing strategies to support and strengthen instructional literacy knowledge, messaging, and practices.
Beginning to develop a toolkit of resources and information.

If you are interested in joining this literacy network and helping to develop the vision for a statewide effort to improve literacy, please register at the link below. There is no commitment, but your registration will ensure that you receive information and mailings.

If you have additional questions about MAIL, please do not hesitate to contact Dee Saucier, Inclusive Education Literacy Specialist, (danielle.m.saucier@maine.gov) or Lee Anne Larsen, Coordinator of Early Learning (leeann.larsen@maine.gov).