Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE) Virtual Professional Development Sessions

The Maine Department of Education and SupportEd are partnering up to provide K-12 Maine educators with four free virtual professional development sessions focusing on Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE).

Zoom – Conveniently join all virtual PD sessions online via Zoom.
Maine Educators – Virtual PD sessions are intended for all Maine teachers grades K-12.
2-hour Sessions – Sessions will last two hours with time to apply strategies included.

SupportEd’s vision is to reimagine the landscape of education for Multilingual Learners (MLs). Specializing in Multilingual Learners (MLs), SupportEd meticulously crafts personalized solutions to fit every partners’ strengths and goals. SupportEd provides educators and administrators with the expertise and resources to help champion the success of MLs within and beyond the classroom. The SupportEd team is comprised of nationally recognized Multilingual Learner experts, best-selling authors, and accomplished researchers — all with extensive experience working in the classroom and/or district.

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Culturally Responsive Teaching and Social Emotional Learning for SLIFE

Thursday, September 22 | 3:00 pm

During this two-hour session, participants will develop an understanding of culturally responsive teaching and social emotional learning for SLIFE. SupportEd will lead participants in defining SLIFE and their characteristics and exploring strategies and tools for creating a culturally responsive school climate that includes social emotional learning practices for SLIFE. Time will also be provided to apply the tools and strategies to their class and school communities.

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Effective Instruction of SLIFE

Thursday, October 20 | 3:00 pm

During this two-hour session, participants will develop an understanding of effective instruction for SLIFE. SupportEd will lead participants in exploring a framework for effective instruction of SLIFE and discussing strategies for supporting SLIFE engagement with and understanding of content learning. Time will also be provided to set goals for supporting the academic needs of SLIFE in all classrooms and schools.

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Supporting SLIFE Family and Community Engagement

Thursday, November 17 | 3:00 pm

During this two-hour session, participants will develop an understanding of how to support SLIFE family and community engagement. SupportEd will lead participants in defining the importance of engaging SLIFE families and community in learning and exploring strategies for partnering with SLIFE families and expanding community collaboration in support of students. Time will also be provided to plan for partnering with SLIFE families and expanding community collaboration.

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Supporting Graduation and Post-Secondary Success of SLIFE

Thursday, December 15 | 3:00 pm

During this two-hour session, participants will develop an understanding of how to support the graduation and post-secondary success of SLIFE. SupportEd will lead participants in discussing barriers and solutions related to graduation and post-secondary success for SLIFE and explore strategies for supporting graduation and post-secondary success of SLIFE. Time will also be provided to apply strategies to plan for implementing strategies for supporting graduation and post-secondary success of SLIFE.

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A Moving Child Is a Learning Child: FREE Early Childhood Text Study

“All learning begins with the body…the body is the brain’s first teacher. And the lesson plan is movement.” (Connell, G. & McCarthy, C. 2014)

Join specialists from the Maine Department of Education’s Early Learning Team for a web-based professional development opportunity. Early childhood educators in the Pre-K through Grade 2 span will utilize a virtual text study format each month for 60 minutes. The sessions will be held on Thursdays. The series will utilize the text, A Moving Child is a Learning Child by Gill Connell and Cheryl McCarthy, 2014. Reading will be completed independently between sessions.

A Moving Child is a Learning Child is grounded in best practices and current research. This hands-on resource connects the dots that link brain activity, motor and sensory development, movement, and early learning in an effort to best support and educate the whole child. The expert authors unveil the Kinetic Scale: a visual map of the active learning needs of infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and children in primary grades that fits each child’s individual timetable. Educators will find a wealth of information, actionable tips, and games they can use to support the whole child across domains of development. If you’re looking for new ideas to grow your practice, engage children in a way that meets their individual needs and build deeper, more meaningful relationships with your students, then consider joining us for this opportunity.

The text study is set to begin on Thursday, November 3, 2022, from 3:30-4:30pm. and will continue the following Thursdays:

November 17
December 8
January 5
January 26
February 16

Registration will be open through September 28th and limited to 30 participants on a first come, first served basis.

Those interested are encouraged to register. Participants will receive a copy of the book and up to 18 contact hours at the end of the text study.

Registration is free and can be completed here.

For further information, please contact Nicole Madore, Early Childhood Specialist at Nicole.Madore@maine.gov

Pre-K for ME and K for ME Professional Learning Communities Offered

The Maine Department of Education (DOE) along with public school teachers from across the state are teaming up to offer monthly professional learning communities (PLCs) for educators implementing Pre-K for ME and/or K for ME in their classrooms.

These PLCs are provided to promote understanding of program design and to support successful program implementation.  Program components will be explored in greater depth and teachers will be encouraged to share examples of practice/student work. Lead teachers and ed techs using the programs are strongly encouraged to attend, whether you are new to using the programs or have been using them for a while.

This year’s PLC opportunities will be held virtually from 3:30-4:30pm on the following Tuesdays:

October 11
November 1
December 6
January 10
February 7
March 7 and 
April 4

Although it is highly encouraged, teachers and ed techs do not have to commit to attend every session. Registration is now available here. Details about how to access the sessions will be provided after registration is completed. Registrations for the PLCs should be received by September 30, 2022.

For additional information about Pre-K for ME, contact Nicole.Madore@maine.gov, and for K for ME, contact Danielle.m.Saucier@maine.gov.

Virtual Professional Learning Community to Support Educators in Engaging Multilingual Newcomers

The Maine Department of Education (DOE) is pleased to invite educators to participate in a virtual Professional Learning Community (PLC) which will develop participants’ understanding about the needs of multilingual newcomers, creating a collegial community of support, as well as practices for engaging newcomers for success in the classroom.

This PLC is based on the WIDA eLearning course “Engaging Multilingual Newcomers,” available through the WIDA Secure Portal. All Maine public school teachers are eligible for a free Secure Portal account by contacting WIDA Client Services. Each PLC session will address one module of the course, which participants will complete before each PLC session.

See the list of PLC sessions below for dates and topics of focus. Sessions will be held from 3:00-4:00pm on Mondays on the dates listed below. Participants should plan to attend all sessions in the series, to the extent possible. Contact hours will be available for participation in the sessions.

The workshops will be facilitated by Rebecca Carey, Maine DOE ESOL Consultant. If you have any questions, contact Rebecca at rebecca.carey@maine.gov.

	Date	Topics
Session 1	Monday, September 26, 2022	Engaging Multilingual Newcomers: The Social and Emotional Needs of Newcomers
Session 2	Monday, October 3, 2022	Engaging Multilingual Newcomers: Building Collegial Relationships
Session 3	Monday, October 17, 2022	Engaging Multilingual Newcomers: Exploring Instructional Strategies for Multilingual Newcomers

VIRTUAL TRAINING: New or Recent Maine School Business Manager Training

Please join the Maine Department of Education’s School Finance & Compliance Team for a brief overview of requirements, resources, and contacts useful for all Maine School Business Managers.

September 21, 2022
9:00 am to 12:00 pm
Virtual Training

Agenda:

9:05 – 9:20 MEFS System features for Code Combinations – Denise
9:25 – 9:45 MaineCare, EF-S-07/214, Audits – Stephanie
9:50 – 10:05 Coding Handbook, State vs. Federal Codes – Mary
10:10 – 11:10 Website Walk Through – ED279 Explained – Paula
11:15 – 11:35 EPS Formula, Gifted & Talented, Special Ed, and CTE – Ida
11:35 – 12:00 Questions and answers

To register and receive meeting info, or for further questions, please contact Stephanie Clark at stephanie.clark@maine.gov.

Free Micro-Credentials and UCLA Graduate Credits on Teaching Multilingual Learners: Information Session on 9.14.22

The Maine Department of Education invites educators of multilingual learners (MLs) to participate in an exciting new professional learning program called ExcEL Leadership Academy, which offers free micro-credentials on many ML-related topics. Whether you’re a classroom teacher who is new to teaching MLs, an experienced ESOL teacher, an administrator, or other educator, you can enhance your practice with one or more targeted micro-credentials.

Join ExcEL Director Laureen Avery and April Perkins, Maine DOE ESOL & Bilingual Programs Specialist, for an information session on 9.14.22 at 3pm. Register here.

Funded through the US Department of Education, ExcEL Leadership Academy is not only totally free to participants, but they also receive a $250 stipend for each micro-credential they complete and can even earn free graduate credit through UCLA!

ExcEL makes professional learning accessible wherever you are located and meets your individualized needs. Here are some key facts about the program:

Micro-credentials are competency-based.
You can choose to participate in just one, a few, or all of the offerings!
You work at your own pace and in your own classroom.
You learn about (and implement) best practices with your existing students. Implementation is integrated into what you are already doing.
Participants join a peer network with members from across New England, creating opportunities to learn with and from other teachers.
The program is self-paced and flexible – with lots of support and options.

To learn more about participants experiences with ExcEL Leadership Academy, check out this video (13:05) featuring the voices of ExcEL teachers in Rhode Island (or this shorter version [1:24]).

For more information or to participate please reach out by email to avery@gseis.ucla.edu.

Professional Learning Series: Learn about the WIDA English Language Development Standards for Multilingual Learners

Are you a classroom or content area teacher with multilingual learners (MLs) in your classroom? If you’re looking to enhance your practice, the WIDA English Language Development (ELD) Standards are a great place to start. The ELD Standards are the essential foundation for providing effective instruction for MLs.

Join April Perkins, ESOL & Bilingual Programs Specialist, for a statewide virtual professional learning community (PLC) to support you in integrating this standards framework into your practice. See dates and topics below. All PLC sessions will be from 3:30-4:30pm. To receive the Zoom link for each session, click on the links in the Module/Topic column.

The PLC will be centered around the WIDA self-paced eWorkshop WIDA ELD Standards Framework: A Collaborative Approach. Participants will complete each module in advance of the session. In order to access the eWorkshop, you will need a free WIDA Secure Portal account, which you can obtain by contacting WIDA Client Services at 1-866-276-7735.

If you have any questions, contact April Perkins at april.perkins@maine.gov.

Date	Module/Topic
9.20.22	Module 1: Connect Current Knowledge and Practices to the WIDA ELD Standards Framework
10.18.22	Module 2: Integrate Student Assets into Content Learning
11.8.22	Module 3: Focus on Key Language Uses
12.13.22	Module 4: Identify Language Expectations Within a Unit
1.17.23	Module 5: Put Language Expectations into Action
2.28.23	Module 6: Plan for Language Growth Over Time

McKinney-Vento Liaison Annual Training

You can receive your 22-23 McKinney-Vento certificate from the Maine Department of Education (DOE) by participating in a Zoom training session with Amelia Lyons amelia.lyons@maine.gov

Sessions are open to M-V Liaisons and any interested staff. See below for schedule! Choose the session time that is convenient for you. These will be the same session repeated, with lots of time for dialogue, breakout rooms, and resource sharing:

Location	Date	Time

Zoom: Register here	Wednesday, September 14	10am-12pm
Zoom: Register here	Thursday, September 29	9am-11am
Zoom: Register here	Tuesday, October 18	10am-12pm
Zoom: Register here	Wednesday, October 26	12pm-2pm

Presentation (In-person and Virtual): U.S. Secret Service Research and Recommendations on the Prevention of Targeted School Violence

Maine’s education workforce is invited to join the U.S. Secret Service and Maine Department of Education’s Maine School Safety Center for a free presentation by the U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) addressing strategies to prevent targeted school violence.

Date: October 5, 2022
Time: 9:00am – 12:00pm
Location: UMA–Jewett Hall in Augusta or Virtual
Intended Audience: Education Administrators, Teachers, School Psychologists/School Counselors, Law Enforcement, Crisis Intervention Units, Counselors & Mental Health Specialists, Social Workers, Anyone who may potentially be involved in risk detection/management position

This presentation will focus on past events of school violence, averted attacks of targeted school violence, and discuss how schools and communities can utilize a multidisciplinary approach to school safety with specific focus on identifying, assessing, and intervening with students who exhibit concerning behavior as early as possible. This is NOT active shooter response training.

Register here – This event is offered both in person and virtually. In-person attendance is limited, so please register asap to ensure your attendance.

Please reach out to Karen Barnes at karen.a.barnes@maine.gov with any questions.

WEBINAR: Getting Started with Interdisciplinary Instruction

The Maine Department of Education (DOE) invites educators to participate in a webinar focusing on how to get started with interdisciplinary instruction. The goal of this session is to give educators a sense of the planning process. Although not required, educators are encouraged to come with an idea in mind.

This 60-minute workshop-style webinar will

Give a brief overview of what interdisciplinary instruction is and how it supports students and educators
Cover how to write a driving question, create a project or product, and align learning activities to MELDS/MLR standards
Give practical tips to get started with interdisciplinary instruction in your classroom

Additional virtual PLCs will begin in October and November for those educators who wish to continue their work. Attendance at this workshop will not be required for the PLCs.

When: Tuesday, September 13, 2022. 3-4

Where: Register HERE to receive the Zoom link

The workshop will be facilitated by Jaime Beal, Interdisciplinary Instruction Specialist. If you have any questions, contact Jaime at jaime.beal@maine.gov.