WEBINAR: Screening for Early Literacy Milestones, Dyslexia, and other Reading Disabilities

Dr. Nadine Gaab will host a webinar, “Screening for Early Literacy Milestones, Dyslexia, and other Reading Disabilities: The WHY, WHEN, WHO, HOW and WHERE on September 28, 2022 from 3:30-4:30 pm

Audience: General & Special Educators, Administrators, Parents, Caregivers and Community Members Interested in Early Literacy, Dyslexia & Reading Disabilities

Cost: FREE please register for ZOOM Link here

This session will address:

Screening for literacy milestones and reading disabilities, including developmental dyslexia in early grades (pre-K-2nd)
The WHY behind the screening movement with a strong focus on the neurobiology of reading development and reading disabilities.
The ‘Dyslexia Paradox’
Important constructs to screen for with a developmental lens
Practical steps for implementing a screening protocol in various educational or clinical settings.
Different screening instruments and criteria for picking the right screener
Educational and clinical implications of screening and early identification in young children.

About the Presenter: Dr. Nadine Gaab is an Associate Professor of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Nadine’s work focuses on developmental cognitive neuroscience, particularly in language-based learning disabilities. Her research in the GaabLab examines the development of typical and atypical language and literacy skills in the pediatric brain and pre-markers of learning disabilities and the development of screening tools for screening literacy milestones and dyslexia.

She is the 2019 recipient of the LDA Award (Learning Disabilities Association America) for her work on learning disabilities. In 2018, Nadine was presented with the Allan C. Crocker Award for her advocacy on behalf of children with dyslexia and reading disabilities and efforts around the recent passage of the Massachusetts screening legislation (under the guidance of Decoding Dyslexia MA). She has also been recognized by the International Dyslexia Association in her receipt of the Norman Geschwind Memorial lecture 2020 and the Alice H. Garside Award for outstanding leadership in advancing the science and advocacy of dyslexia. She is an international speaker, frequently presenting to teachers on the brain science of typical and atypical literacy development.

If there are additional questions please email Tracy (Tracy.W.Whitlock@maine.gov), Anne-Marie Adamson (Anne-Marie.Adamson@maine.gov_) or Dee Saucier (danielle.m.saucier@maine.gov).

WEBINAR: Registering and Enrolling Refugee and Immigrant Students in Secondary Schools

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) is hosting to a webinar where panelists will discuss best practices and resources for facilitating refugee and immigrant students’ transition into U.S. schools, including scheduling considerations, academic evaluations, and options for registering newcomer students who arrive without academic credentials or who do not meet state academic requirements.

The panelists will also discuss models of academic background review and assessment that can be used during newcomer immigrant registration and enrollment to set students on a success trajectory and pathway to graduation.

Aug 12, 2022 02:00 PM in Eastern Time (US and Canada)

More Information and Register Here

2022 Foreign Language Association of Maine Summer Institute

The Foreign Language Association of Maine in collaboration with The University of Maine Department of Modern Languages and Classics invites you to the 2022 FLAME Summer Institute.

Date: August 22, 2022
Place: University of Maine, Orono. Bennett Hall Bldg.
Time: 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Cost: Registration is $50 with FLAME membership 2022-2023. $60 without FLAME membership. Registration for new teachers and student teachers (0-1 year of experience)$30 with FLAME membership 2022-2023, $40 without membership (learn more about becoming a FLAME member here).

Keynote Speaker: Gisela Hoecherl-Alden, Assistant Dean & Director of Language Instruction Professor of the Practice in German at Boston University.

Gisela Hoecherl-Alden is currently Professor of German and Assistant Dean and Director of Language Instruction at Boston University, where she works closely with the faculty in over 20 language programs. She recently received ACTFL’s Nelson Brooks Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Culture and has also served on the boards of the Northeast Conference, American Association of Teachers of German, and FLAME.

Keynote Address: Starting Strong: Where Do We Go From Here?

As we reimagine our language classes, we let our experiences teaching during the pandemic and our students’ aspirations and fears guide us. While we ensure that our students engage with products, practices and perspectives from target language communities, we also help them move from basic concepts to big questions, so they learn to think critically about how social structures impact daily lives. The talk explores how and why our language classes are important sites for connecting with social justice issues and highlights approaches to making them relevant for a changed reality.

Session Highlights:

5 Tricks to start the year strong! Ready to go activities for the first week of school
How to Integrate Cooking into Language Learning?
How to Love Teaching and Prevent Burnout
Card talk in Bulgarian
Creating Comprehensible Input Activities with Authentic Resources
Responsibility of the Cultural & Language Broker
How to create a lesson from an authentic game

For a full list of sessions and descriptions click here.

Register here for the Summer Institute!
(Paypal link).
Deadline to register is August 15, 2022

Free One-Day National Conference for Educators: Virtual State of Agriculture

Maine Agriculture in the Classroom (MACITC) is offering a FREE Professional Development Opportunity from National Agriculture in the Classroom and CHS Foundation. The Virtual State of Agriculture is a one-day virtual conference on July 28th from 10:00am – 5:45pm (ET).

The conference will will feature a keynote address from the award-winning author Peggy Thomas. Sessions will feature a variety of agricultural subjects and interests for all grade levels. There are two session tracks, one for elementary and one for secondary, and participants can switch back and forth to any session that interests them.

Join us for a day sure to leave you with valuable agricultural literacy resources and excitement for the new school year!

Learn more and register here.

For more information reach out to Maine Agriculture in the Classroom at P: 207.287.5522 or E: maitc@maine.gov.

Employment Specialist Certification Training

The Maine Departments of Labor, Education, and Health and Human Services are pleased to announce the new Working Together Maine Workforce System training led by the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Successful completion of this training leads to an approved Employment Specialist certification that meets the requirements of Maine state agencies to support individuals with disabilities on their paths to employment.

To learn more about this in person training and to register view the flyer.

For additional information or questions, please contact Lara Enein at lara.enein@umb.edu.

Registration for Statewide Early Childhood Education Conference is Now Open

This year’s annual statewide Early Childhood Education Conference, Connecting Early Childhood Education; Birth through Eight Across the State has been organized through a collaboration of early learning partners, including the Maine Department of Education (DOE). The conference will be held on October 28th and 29th at the Cross Center in Bangor.

Breakout sessions for Pre-Kindergarten through 3rd grade educators will include a wide range of topics that focus on trauma informed practices as well as practical tools for supporting diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging to foster communities. Other sessions will offer support on social-emotional learning through literacy and language, mindful leadership, building bridges with child care programs to ease the transition to Kindergarten, the power of play, early intervention for dyslexia, math for all learners and engaging with families. Speakers and presenters will focus on best practices in early learning for all those working with children from birth through early elementary years.

Information about sponsorship and/or exhibitor opportunities can be accessed here.

Come for one day or come for both! Cost of attendance is $100.00 per person per day and will include a continental breakfast, lunch, a keynote address each day, over 50 breakout sessions from which to choose, an exhibitor hall, networking opportunities and chances to connect with peers.

How to register:

Please visit the conference website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/maine-early-childhood-education-conference-tickets-347892053497
Click on the green button that says Tickets and a pop-up window will open.
This registration process will secure you a ticket to one or two days of the 2022 Statewide ECE Conference. Participants will select breakout sessions for the conference at a later date.

Please contact the Maine Association for the Education of Young Children with any questions or concerns related to registration by emailing info@maineaeyc.org or by calling 207-747-2490.

For other questions, contact Maine DOE’s Early Childhood Specialist, Nicole Madore at nicole.madore@maine.gov.

Space Still Available for Leading Early Learning Series

Applications for the Leading Early Learning Series will be accepted through July 5. School administrators who support the PreK to Grade 3 span are strongly encouraged to explore this dynamic professional learning opportunity.

Leading Early Learning—A Professional Learning Series for Elementary School Administrators

“Participating in the series has helped me to look at the decisions we make about our instructional programming and school community through the lens of early learning and what is developmentally appropriate for our youngest learners.” – Quote from Cohort 1 participant

As Maine elementary schools have added preschool programming and are promoting whole child approaches across the Pre-K -Grade 3 span, elementary principals have requested professional learning to support their work as educational leaders. The Maine Department of Education and several Maine educational organizations (listed below) have collaborated to design an exciting professional learning series to address identified needs and support professional growth. The Leading Early Learning series was piloted with 16 administrators in 2021-22 and we are pleased to announce the second cohort for this series will launch during the 2022-23 school year.

The series will not only provide participants with opportunity to deepen their knowledge of early learning pedagogy and best practices related to supporting students and teachers across Pre-K-3, but it will also provide a professional learning network, opportunity to design a concept for an implementation project, and be supported through facilitated discussions. Participants will engage in a variety of modes of learning, from asynchronous modules to professional learning communities to attendance at a statewide early learning conference.

If this opportunity interests you, please review the details for the series in the informational guide. A link to apply for the series is included in the informational guide. The series will support up to 25 participants. Applications will be received through July 5, 2022. Once spaces are filled, a waiting list will be generated.

For additional information, please contact Lee Anne Larsen, Director of Early Learning at Maine DOE, leeann.larsen@maine.gov.

Leading Early Learning Partner Organizations

Maine Department of Education
Maine Roads to Quality Professional Development Network
Maine Association for the Education of Young Children
UMaine Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies

MTSS Monday Minute – Graduation Rates and MTSS – Is Now Available!

Have you seen the June 13th MTSS Monday Minute? This week’s M&M features one school district’s approach to improving graduation rates through their MTSS.

Also, there is still time to register for one of this summer’s book club gatherings. Books for the Effective Universal Instruction book club have begun to be mailed. Currently there are still 1 free book available for the Effective Universal Instruction text, and 11 The Knowledge Gap books. Click this link for more information about the book club opportunity.

*In the M&M video, 3 free books are referenced as being available for Effective Universal Instruction, but 2 have since been accounted for. All educators who have read, or would like to learn more about Effective Universal Instruction by Kim Gibbons and colleagues are welcome to join!

For further information, reach out to Andrea Logan, Maine DOE Multi-tiered Systems of Support Specialist at andrea.logan@maine.gov.

Maine DOE Data Management Systems Summer Training

The Maine Department of Education (DOE) Data Team is holding their annual summer training July 26th-28th and August 9th-16th. The focus of the training this year will be on tips and resources to assist districts with their state required data reporting and viewing/certifying their reports. New for this year we have condensed our sessions down to three hours. Please note that these trainings are geared towards users who have experience in the states student and/or staff data collection and reporting systems (Synergy, NEO and MEIS). For those who are brand new to state required student and/or staff data reporting we offer one-on-one onboard training.

To register for the training, please visit Summer 2022 Training Registration.

Training Dates and Locations

July 26th, Houlton Middle/High School, 7 Bird St, Houlton, ME 04730
July 27th, Hampden Academy, 89 Western Ave, Hampden, ME 04444
July 28th, Ellsworth Elementary/Middle School, 20 Forrest Avenue Ellsworth, ME 04605
August 9th, Cony High School, 60 Pierce Drive Augusta, ME 04330
August 10th, Park Avenue Elementary, Park Avenue, Auburn, ME 04210
August 11th, Orion Performing Arts Center, 50 Republic Ave, Topsham, ME 04086
August 12th, Biddeford High School, 18 Maplewood Ave, Biddeford, ME 04005
August 16th, TEAMS Live Event, select “Join Live” at 9am or when ever you would like to join.

All sessions will begin with registration at 8:30am, with presentations beginning at 9am. Coffee and water will also be provided throughout the training.

The following is the daily agenda for this year’s summer data trainings Please note that these times are tentative and are subject to change. Thank you.

8:30 – 9:00 – Check-in, Meet & Greet

9:00 – 9:30 – Welcome, Helpdesk Resources, Introduction of new staff & What’s New for 2023 – Ryan Cunningham

9: 30 – 10:15 – NEO Staff Module & MEIS – Drew Mitchell

10:15 – 10:45 – Graduation/Student Reports– Trevor Burns

10:45 – 11:00 – Break

11: 00 – 11:45 – Synergy – Michael Mikrut

11: 45 – 12:00 – Closing – Questions, Comments and Concerns

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding these training sessions, please contact Ryan Cunningham Maine DOE Data Systems Helpdesk Manager at (207) 624-6809 or Ryan.L.Cunningham@maine.gov .

Registration Now Open for Maine Educator Summit August 9th & 10th

The Maine Department of Education (DOE) is excited to announce that registration for the 2022 Maine Educator Summit is now open. This summit provides all Maine educators and school staff with opportunities for professional learning, peer networking, and resource materials to further support students impacted by the COVID-19 global pandemic. In sponsoring this event, the Maine DOE aims to further support Maine’s education workforce in the areas of resilience, responsiveness, and a renewed approach to education.

Registration for the 2022 Maine Educator Summit at the Augusta Civic Center on August 9-10, 2022 is now open and will close July 15, 2022. The summit will offer a multitude of sessions around topics like interdisciplinary learning, school safety, supporting students’ mental and physical health, special education, building the educator workforce, and more. Participants will be able to join several different learning sessions, and the Maine DOE is encouraging teams from each SAU to register. Further information regarding accommodations, transportation, and the event schedule is available on the DOE Maine Educator Summit web page.

Reimbursement of accommodations, meals, and mileage is available.

Contact hours will be provided.

For further information about the 2022 Maine Educator Summit, please reach out to
Teri Peaslee, Summit Coordinator at (207) 530-7672.

#MEEducatorSummit