The Maine Department of Education, Office of Special Services & Inclusive Education presents TransitionME Virtual Tuesday Power Hour Series, a best practices forum to provide opportunities for our State educators and transition leaders to grapple with and actuate strategies and support for our scholars’ diverse needs and pathways to post-secondary opportunities
Upcoming session: What central skills do students, including students with exceptionalities, need to find success in life and work?
Audience: All teachers; Highly recommended for Sped teachers, Case managers & Transition Leads
When: Jan 31, 2023 03:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Amy Poland, a member of Maine Department of Education (DOE) Adult Education Team, will discuss nine central skills that are critical for success in life and work and will share the Teaching Skills that Matter toolkit, a set of high-quality lessons that integrate the skills into relevant contexts, such as civics education, health literacy, and workforce preparation. While written for adult learners, the TSTM toolkit materials are also relevant for high school learners, including multilingual learners.
Register here in advance for this meeting. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Participants who take part in this Professional Development will receive 1 contact hour.
For further information contact Titus O’Rourke, Maine DOE Eligibility & Transition Specialist at titus.orourke@maine.gov or call 207-215-6303.
The 2023 Alternative Education Association (AEA) of Maine’s Spring Conference will take place at Thomas College on March 10th from 8:30-2:30. AEA will offer six contact hours for participants of this conference.
If interested, please take a moment to fill out the Choices for Conference Presentation form, which will help the AEA define the topics that will be presented at the conference.
If you are ready to register for the conference, please submit the Conference Registration Form – all individuals must fill out the form, even if multiple people are attending from one school district. Step two of the registration process is to print out the AEA of Maine Conference Invoice and send it to Dawn Matthews with your payment. (address and conference information is on the form) If you have already paid your dues for the Association this year, you DO NOT need to do Step 2. If you are not sure, send Dawn an email at dawn.matthews@rsu29.org
For further information and questions about the conference reach out to Lenny Holmes Leonard Holmes at lholmes@bonnyeagle.org.
The Mission of the Alternative Education Association of Maine is to provide support, guidance and direction to Maine Alternative Educators and the students they serve. The AEA’s purpose is to be an advocate and provide resources for all those in Maine who are involved in Alternative Education. Learn more about AEA here.
The Maine Department of Education is pleased to present “Functional Communication: More than just a new app!”
Please join us on February 1st from 3:30-5:00 pm for a free virtual workshop presented by Fran Bodkin, MA CCC-SLP, in order to support all school personnel in understanding students with communication needs. Communication is vital to participating in society at all levels; school, home and community. Students who have difficulty expressing themselves and getting their needs met frequently experience frustration and may exhibit interfering behaviors in attempting to communicate what they need and want.
In this presentation you will learn:
How functional communication impacts students across settings
What is a functional communication evaluation and who can do one?
How to seek an evaluation or alternate supports
Different levels of assistive technology to support communication
How you can support students across settings
How to help students reach their full potential
How to leverage communication to support positive behaviors
How to have fun with communication!
1.5 contact hours will be offered to participants of this webinar.
Maine PBIS is offering a 3 day Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) Training for our Maine PBIS schools. A FBA is the process used to assess a specific behavior that is interfering with a student’s academic, social, emotional and behavioral goals. This team-based training will support your school staff in identifying why the behavior is happening through a variety of assessment tools and procedures leading to the development of a positive behavior support plan individualized to the student’s strengths and needs.
Team-based training, minimum of three team members per school
In-person training 8:30-3:00 pm (3/21, 4/4, 4/25)
The training is cumulative, participants will need to attend all three sessions – 18 contact hours are available to participants who attend all 3 sessions.
In-person at University of Southern Maine, Gorham Campus: 37 College Ave, 8 Bailey Hall – Room 301/301C in Gorham, ME
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was signed into law on December 10, 2015, amending the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). ESSA contains provisions related to protections for children in foster care and requires the Maine Department of Education ( DOE) and Maine school administrative units (SAUs) to collaborate with the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) to ensure educational stability for children in foster care.
Join the Maine DOE’s Office of School and Student Supports Director Julie Smyth and Associate Director of Child Welfare Services Bobbi Johnson on Tuesday, January 31st via Zoom for a 4:00 pm Annual Foster Care Training for Point Of Contacts (POCs). Participants receive a certificate upon successful completion of a post-session quiz.
The goal of ESSA is for children in foster care to experience minimal disruption in their education because of being placed in foster care and that they are given the same opportunities to develop the necessary skills to be successful as children who are not in foster care.
Under ESSA the Maine DOE and OCFS must work together to ensure:
A child in foster care will enroll or remain enrolled in the child’s school of origin unless a determination is made that it is not in the child’s best interest to attend that school.
If a determination is made that is not in the child’s best interest to remain in the school of origin, the child will immediately be enrolled in a new school, even if the child and/or his or her guardians are unable to produce records normally required for enrollment; and
The child’s new school must immediately contact the school of origin to obtain relevant records.
Register here.After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing further information about joining the meeting.
For questions, please contact Julie Smyth, Director of the Office of School, and Student Supports – at 207.592.0949 or julie.a.smyth@maine.gov .
The Maine Department of Education (DOE), Office of Student Supports will be hosting author Hedreich Nichols on March 2, 2023, in Brewer. Nichols is an author and educational consultant helping teachers and districts amplify the voices of all students. With her Solution Tree title, Finding Your Blind Spots: 8 Guiding Principles to Overcome Implicit Bias in Teaching, Hedreich combines her experience as a “One Black Friend” and educator with academic research and pedagogical strategies to ensure that educators have the skills and knowledge they need to create more equitable classrooms and campuses.
Hedreich will be hosting a conference on behalf of the Maine DOE titled Bias and Belonging. This will be an interactive workshop. Check-in on March 2nd is from 8:15-8:30, and we will depart at 3:30 pm. There will be time for Q and A with Nichols and collaboration with participants. We invite you to our day with the author, Bias and Belonging.
Register here(Please register before February 26th; space is limited.)
Participation in the March 2nd event will include light refreshments and lunch provided at no additional cost. Those attending on behalf of school administrative units (SAUs) are eligible for a $125 reimbursement (payable to the SAU) for employee time/travel.8 CEUs will be awarded for participation on March 2nd.
The Office of Special Services and Inclusive Education at the Maine Department of Education is pleased to announce our next speaker in our Special Topics Series – Dr. Rachel Lambert!
Leveraging Student Strengths: Neurodiversity and Mathematics
Dr. Rachel Lambert
January 31, 2023
3:30-4:30 pm
Audience: General & Special Educators, Administrators, Parents, Caregivers and Community Members Interested in Literacy, Dyslexia & Reading Disabilities and Interventions
This presentation from Dr. Rachel Lambert will focus on giving neurodiverse students equal access to meaningful mathematics, by transforming how we understand neurodiversity and disability. In this session we will explore neurodiversity in relationship to mathematics teaching and learning. Dr. Lambert will discuss her research on dyslexia and mathematics, conducted with dyslexic mathematicians, as a springboard to discuss strategies to leverage the strengths of neurodiverse students in math class.
About the Presenter:
Dr. Rachel Lambert taught for over 10 years as a math educator, special educator, and inclusive educator and is now an Associate Professor at University of California Santa Barbara in both Mathematics Education and Special Education. She has her MA in Learning dis/Abilities from Teachers College and her PhD in Urban Education (focus on Mathematics, Science and Technology). Dr. Lambert is also a Disability Studies in Education Scholar. Her scholarly work investigates the intersections between disability studies in education and mathematics education. She has conducted longitudinal studies of how learners with and without disabilities construct identities as mathematics learners, and how mathematical pedagogy shapes disability. Her vast collection of resources and research can be found on her websites https://mathematizing4all.com/ and https://designing4inclusion.com/.
Prioritize Your S.E.L.F. – Sleep. Eat. Laugh. Fitness. “Be the best you, so you can be your best for your school.” Great Professional Learning Day! Fabulous Keynotes, Sessions and Networking!
The Winter Wellness Summit is not far away! Join your colleagues from across the State to refill your wellness toolbox! This is a professional (and personal) learning event that will feature outstanding keynote speakers and engaging health promotion and wellness sessions. There will also be opportunities to learn about state programs and local school district wellness teams, successful wellness strategies, resources, and programs to can help build an action plan for healthier staff, students, school community, and learning environments.
When: Friday, January 27th from 8:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. (Snow date February 3rd) Where: The Samoset Resort, Rockport, ME
Who: School and community individuals and teams of 2 or more interested in schoolsite health promotion and wellness Cost: Just $75/person. Late registration after January 20 – $90/person; Registration closes January 24. Morning Refreshments and lunch included in registration. Contact hours will be available. *If you will be paying by purchase order please contact susan.berry@maine.gov before you register. Now available: Scholarships for up to $250 to support access to the 2023 Winter Wellness Summit. Visit the web page for details: Employee & Student Wellness Professional Learning
RESERVATION BOOKING LINK– Accommodations are on your own. Use the Reservation Booking Linkfor the State per diem rate of $127/night! Please do not call The Samoset to book rooms.
Roundtable Opportunity — Interested in hosting a roundtable session at the Winter Wellness Summit? Please complete this form with all the details and submit by Thursday, January 19th. These are short sessions to share successful wellness initiatives, program components, highlight a program or resource that a wellness team could utilize in an action plan.
Our theme is focused on the importance of healthy habits and how they are interconnected. All areas of health will be addressed, (physical, mental, emotional, social, etc.) with knowledge and skills/strategies shared to enhance daily health practice. The content will support all within a school community promoting overall health and wellness.
Keynote Speakers:
Nancy H. Rothstein
Nancy H. Rothstein)
The opening keynote speaker, Nancy H. Rothstein, aka The Sleep Ambassador®, is a globally known sleep expert on a quest to raise awareness, educate and provide strategies to optimize sleep for all. Sleep is integral to health, performance, productivity, safety, and well-being. This is a challenge for many so expanding our understanding of the impact of sleep, or not enough sleep, on our health is vital to our performance and well-being. Nancy’s goal is to empower people to enhance their sleep so they can live at their best.
Larry Weaver
Larry Weaver
The closing keynote, Larry Weaver, is a comedian and motivational speaker who delivers a one-of-a-kind, interactive, and uplifting message. He will illustrate keys to a positive attitude that are crucial to success and… simply having more fun at work! Larry will leave you laughing, learning, and better equipped to become more positive in your personal and professional life.
The goal of the Maine School Winter Wellness Summit is to inspire and empower participants to take care of one’s health and create healthier, more positive, and safer schools for all school personnel and students by engaging in health promotion and improving personal health and well-being and enhancing academic achievement. In addition to the keynote presentations, this year’s agenda includes time to network with colleagues and professionals from across the state who value and practice health promotion and wellness, engaging and educational workshops on personal wellness practices and programs to support positive school environments, and support for worksite wellness program planning.
Maine ASCD and the Maine Department of Education are collaborating to connect and provide anywhere/anytime professional learning opportunities AT NO COST for ALL Maine educators and school staff that focus on the Whole Student.
The Whole Student is a research- and evidence-based structure and framework that originally was created as the “Whole Child” framework by ASCD.org in partnership with the U.S. CDC. ASCD is one of the world’s largest and most respected organizations that support educational leadership, research, and effective teaching practices. Maine ASCD, the Maine affiliate of the larger ASCD organization, has been championing the Whole Child framework for more than a decade in Maine.
Beginning in the 2017-2018 school year, Maine ASCD (led by Executive Director Leigh Alley and Board Member and President Matt Drewette-Card) built a comprehensive micro-credential suite to support anywhere/anytime professional learning of the Whole Child and ASCD’s Whole Child framework. Leigh and Matt spent the next two-years working with ASCD, other state ASCD Affiliates, and local Maine organizations to help spread the word about the Whole Child micro-credential suite.
Maine ASCD and the Maine Department of Education are excited to announce a partnership that opens access to the Maine ASCD micro-credential suite for ALL Maine educators and school staff at zero cost. Maine ASCD, under the leadership of Matt and Leigh, have worked with Maine DOE to create an additional tenet of “Prepared” to add to the original framework. Moving the framework away from “Whole Child” toward “Whole Student” and integrating the “Prepared” tenet opens the doors for all educators and school staff to think about “learning” from a holistic perspective, reaching learners across the PK-12+ continuum.
Upon completion of the Maine ASCD Whole Student micro-credential suite, educators and staff will be named, certified, and recognized as “Whole Student Champions.” This community of Champions will grow into a powerful collaborative of highly-passionate and dedicated educators and staff who will connect and support each other to ensure that Maine’s learners are healthy, safe, engaged, supported, challenged, and prepared.
Those completing micro-credentials are recognized with a digital badge of completion as well as a certificate of contact hours. This resource is a comprehensive, customizable approach for all educators and school staff not only to meet professional learning and certification requirements, but also to engage in and implement highly-effective, personalized, and evidence-based practices and strategies.
For more information on Whole Student or this partnership, please contact: Beth Lambert, Director of Innovative Teaching and Learning, Beth.Lambert@maine.gov.
