Category: Professional Development

Teaching Cybersecurity Training Opportunity for High School Teachers 

Recognizing October is Cybersecurity Awareness month and recognizing that a career in the high demand field of cybersecurity may be of interest to students in high school, the Maine Department of Education (DOE) would like to share information about a scholarship opportunity for high school teachers to be trained to teach cybersecurity.  

Jointly sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security and the National Security Agency, the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity is funding the first credentialing program for high school cybersecurity education in the country through a collaborative of higher education institutions called  the National Cybersecurity Teaching Academy (NCTA). The inaugural program will prepare 90 high school teachers to teach an advanced cybersecurity course designed for high school teachers.  

Three universities (DePaul, University of Louisville, and UA Little Rock) will be offering the virtual program, with a little bit of variation depending on the university’s program. Teachers who are accepted into the National Cybersecurity Teaching Academy will receive funding covering tuition for the 12-credit hour virtual graduate certificate program that will include coursework on teaching cybersecurity, foundations of cybersecurity, network security, and advanced topics designed for high school teachers.  

With 90 scholarships available, interested teachers should register for information before December 1, 2021 at this National Cybersecurity Teaching Academy link. The application for the National Cybersecurity Teaching Academy will open in December and the National Cybersecurity Teaching Academy program will begin in Summer 2022.  

To view the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s press release about its National Cybersecurity Teaching Academy program click this UA Little Rock link.  

For more information about the  K-12 Maine Learning Results Life and Career Ready Standards and specific strategies for facilitating career awareness, exploration, planning, and development with students, contact Maine DOE Life and Career Ready Education Specialist, Diana Doiron at diana.doiron@maine.gov  or 207-592-2128.  

Virtual Tour of NASA’s Antarctic Meteorite Lab + Astromaterials 3D

The NASA Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) team invites you to register for the upcoming webinar for educators, educator-led groups of students, or college level students. The targeted audience is students in grades 9 and above, but other grade levels are welcome to register.

Virtual Tour of NASA’s Antarctic Meteorite Lab + Astromaterials 3D

Join a FREE NASA Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) webinar! During this webinar, they will give participants a tour of their Antarctic Meteorite Laboratory at the NASA Johnson Space Center, where they curate meteorites collected during ANtarctic Search for METeorites (ANSMET) Expeditions. They will also introduce participants to their Astromaterials 3D Project, a STEAM effort that encourages investigators of all ages to virtually explore meteorites like never before! The presentation will last approximately 45 minutes followed by an optional ~15-30 minutes of questions and answers.

Register for the live event or to receive an archived recording of the presentation (pending a successful recording). To participate in the live event you will need an internet connected computer with speakers (no microphones or cameras are needed).

  • Tuesday, November 16, 2021 from 12:00 -1:00pm Eastern Time
  • We plan to remain on the live event ~15–30 minutes past the top of the hour to answer additional questions participants may have.
  • Registration here!

Other Webinar Details: 

  • After you register for the event, you will see a Webinar Registration Complete! Confirmation on your screen AND you will receive an email with a confirmation that your registration has been received.    
  • For those of you who register for the Live event, you will receive an email with the Webinar Testing (which will likely occur on 11/15) and Live Event Connection Information (11/16).  We will facilitate this webinar using Zoom Webinar.
  • This event will also be livestreamed on YouTube (details will be shared as we get closer to the event).

If you have questions, please feel free to email Paige V. Graff (paige.v.graff@nasa.gov) or put your questions in your registration form so she can contact you directly.

WEBINAR: Bullying Awareness and Prevention Resources and Strategies

Please join the Federal School Safety Clearinghouse on October 26 at 3:00 PM EDT for an informational webinar on bullying awareness and prevention resources, tactics, and strategies to create safer school environments. This session will provide information and resources to the kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12) school community.

The session will feature guest speaker and bullying prevention expert Melissa Mercado Crespo, Ph.D., MSc, MA from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Violence Prevention. She will provide an overview of what bullying is and how to identify it, key strategies and actions schools and school personnel can implement to prevent and address it, and the tools and resources available from the government to support schools in these efforts. She will also describe the different types of bullying (including cyberbullying), their impact on school violence, and the relationship between bullying, suicide, and the well-being of school-age youth.

The discussion will also feature additional school safety-related resources on topics like school climate and mental health access and support and a Q&A session for participants to engage directly with Dr. Mercado Crespo.

  • When: October 26, 2021, 3:00 to 4:00 PM EDT
  • Where: Adobe Connect (access link to be provided one day in advance of the event)
  • For: K-12 School Superintendents and Principals; Counselors and Mental Health Practitioners; School and District Administrators; Teachers and School Staff; School Resource Officers; Parents and Guardians; Students
  • Registration: https://schoolsafetybullyingpreventionwebinar.eventbrite.com

We hope you can join us for this special event during National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month. If you have any questions, please contact the Department of Homeland Security’s School Safety team at SchoolSafety@hq.dhs.gov.

Count ME In Training: Transforming School Climate & Culture

Join Count ME In for a fall training session and learn strategies on how to build a positive climate, improve school culture, decrease chronic absenteeism whether remote, in-person, or six-feet apart, and much more!

Date & Time: Tuesdays, November 9 & November 16 from 12:00 pm – 2:45 pm

INTERACTIVE VIRTUAL SESSION

You and your team CAN create a positive school climate and culture during a pandemic!

PARTICIPANTS WILL:

  • Examine how to build healthy relationships within the school community even when behind a screen (staff with students, staff with staff, and staff with families)
  • Learn how to implement fair process for inclusive decision-making
  • Explore strategies for difficult conversations among staff, students and/or families
  • Access a framework (including staff survey) to assess your own school climate and culture through consensus decision-making
  • Leave the workshop with tools to help create a thriving school where all students and staff can feel welcome and be successful

PRESENTERS: Ansley Newton and Susan Lieberman

COST: $85 per member of the school team (minimum of 3 team members) and $115 for individuals. This covers training and materials. The same team should attend both remote sessions. Zoom link will be forwarded after registration.

REGISTER HERE or visit: www.countmeinmaine.org/newsite/attend-upcoming-trainings

If you have any questions, please contact Susan Lieberman at  slieberman@countmeinmaine.org.

Two-Part Webinar Series on Nurturing Speaking Growth for English Learners

The Maine Department of Education invites all educators, Kindergarten to Grade 12, to participate in a two-part webinar series on Nurturing Speaking Growth for students who are English learners. Facilitated by Terri Mosgrove of WIDA, this webinar series is designed to support all educators who would like to explore the connection between the ACCESS Speaking Test and classroom practices that promote oral language development.

Participants will explore the underpinnings of the Speaking Test in a self-paced module that allows for choice and control. In each webinar, participants will engage in meaning making activities that provide ways to nurture students’ speaking growth. Participants will be asked to speak and share ideas with colleagues within the virtual event.

By engaging in the eWorkshop, participants will:

  • Apply the underpinnings of the Speaking Assessment to classroom practice
  • Connect the Key Language Uses to instructional practices in speaking
  • Explore the impact of holding the floor for extended classroom discourse
  • Choose Teacher Moves to support student voice
  • Develop an ear for language to support precision decisions.

Dates: 10.19.21 and 10.26.21

Times: 2-3:30pm

Register here – closes on 10.11.21.

Note that these webinars will not be recorded, per WIDA policy, and alternate tasks will be provided for registered participants who are unable to attend. If you have any questions, please contact April Perkins, World Languages & ESOL/Bilingual Programs Specialist, at april.perkins@maine.gov.

ACTEM 2021 Fall Conference to take place Virtually on October 14th and 15th

The 2021 Fall ACTEM Conference (Association of Computer Technology Educators of Maine) is virtual this year, hosted by Hopin, a very reliable and successful platform. The conference is FREE for all ACTEM members, $20 for in-state non-members, and $30 for out-of-state educators.

The conference will run Thursday, October 14h and Friday, October 15th from 3:00PM to 7:00PM each day.

2021 Fall ACTEM Conference Highlights:

  • Two amazing keynotes, Michael Matera and Dr. Shreya Dave.
  • 90% of the presentations are recorded and available to all ACTEM members.
  • Check out the schedule of presentations here: https://bit.ly/ACTEM21

Learn more and register here!

For more information contact ACTEM at (207) 222-4353 or info@actem.org.

Free Statewide Meet & Greet for New School Library Staff

New to a school library and/or changed libraries? Join the Maine Association of School Libraries (MASL) and its members members in small groups to chat about your questions and ideas.

This is a free, virtual event that will take place on Thursday, September 30th from 4pm to 5pm. 

During the event you will have the opportunity to connect with other new library staff new to a school or the profession while also gaining perspective from MASL members. The session will cover the benefits of MASL membership including professional development, networking, and scholarship opportunities. 

For more information or to register, please visit the event page on the MASL website.

FREE TRAINING: Behavioral Threat Assessment

What is school-based behavioral threat assessment? 

  • Violence prevention strategy recommended by the U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Secret Service, and FBI.
  • Multidisciplinary team approach to identify behaviors of concern, assess the level of risk, and provide appropriate interventions.

Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines (CSTAG TRAINING):

  • Consists of 2 levels of training.
  • Level 1: 8 eLearning modules, taking approximately 6 hours, to be completed at your convenience asynchronously online. Training window opens on October 4, 2021.
  • Level 2: 4-hour Synchronous training to work through practice cases applying the methodology learned in the Level 1 training. October 19th via Zoom from 9:00-1:00.

Who should attend?

  • School Resource Officers
  • School Administrators
  • Law Enforcement Responding to Schools
  • School Mental Health Providers/Social Workers/Psychologists
  • School Safety Teams
  • Juvenile Community Corrections Officers

How to register?

  • Contact Karen Barnes, Threat Assessment/Mental Health Officer at the Maine School Safety Center at karen.a.barnes@maine.gov for more information or to be added to the training roster.
  • Additional training dates TBA.

Resources and Information about Protecting Student Privacy

Federal and state laws regulate the privacy of student education records. These laws apply to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE). With this in mind, the Maine DOE has put together a toolkit of links to information, resources, and training for district administrators and school employees to use as a quick reference for information and contacts related to student data privacy.

In addition to having links to information about the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and other federal and state laws that protect student privacy, there are also training videos, resources and guidance from U.S. DOE about understanding what student privacy is as well as other more in-depth tutorials about everything from virtual learning to integrated data systems.

The toolkit also features state level resources such as the Maine Student Privacy Alliance (MSPA), in addition to more student privacy resources from U.S. DOE, both specifically for district administrators but also for early childhood educators, education technology vendors, parents and students, postsecondary school officials, and researchers.

Access the Maine DOE Student Data Privacy Toolkit here.

For further questions about student data privacy, contact U.S. DOE Student Privacy Help Desk (Toll-Free): 1-855-249-3072

Working with Community Partners to Provide State-Funded Pre-K

Recently, members of the Early Learning Team at the Department of Education (DOE) partnered with the Maine State Head Start Collaboration Office and the Governor’s Office of Innovation and the Future to provide a three-part professional learning series aimed at supporting school administrative units (SAUs) in navigating formal partnerships with licensed community providers. The series examined common myths and facts about partnering, explored the benefits and barriers of forming partnerships, and reviewed a roadmap for beginning conversations between partners. Representatives from existing public Pre-K and community partnerships also joined for a one-hour panel highlighting their own unique experiences in providing high-quality public Pre-K programs through formal partnerships.

All three, one-hour sessions were recorded and are now available on the Maine DOE’s Early Childhood website on the Professional Learning & Resources page. Additionally, links to individual sessions are provided below.

As SAUs in Maine continue to start and expand their public Pre-K offerings, partnerships are highly recommended to support the growing number of children that would like to attend as well as the needs of families. The Early Learning Team is prepared to support these conversations as needed. Those interested in more resources should reach out to one of the following specialists:

Early Education Team Coordinator, Leeann.larsen@maine.gov

Early Childhood Specialist, Nicole.madore@maine.gov

Early Childhood Monitor, Marcy.r.whitcomb@maine.gov

State Head Start Collaboration Director, Nena.m.cunningham@maine.gov

Senior Policy Analyst & Children’s Cabinet Coordinator, Ana.hicks@maine.gov