Meet the 2020 National Teacher of the Year

NTOY Tabitha Roy with students Tabatha Rosproy, a 10-year veteran teacher from Kansas, is the first early childhood educator to be named National Teacher of the Year. She teaches preschool for Winfield Early Learning Center (WELC) in Winfield, Kansas. The preschool is housed in Cumbernauld Village, a local retirement community and nursing home. Her classroom was highlighted in a video that can be seen here.

Maine Department of Education is very excited about the opportunity to host Tabatha in a meet and greet session that will be moderated by Nicole Madore, Early Childhood Specialist. We will discuss important early childhood topics including inclusion, family engagement, transitions, and other best practice strategies. There will also be time for participants to ask their own questions to gain further insight from Tabatha’s experience as an early childhood educator.

All early childhood (birth-3rd grade) educators, administrators, childcare providers, Head Start staff and higher-education students are welcomed and encouraged to join!

The two-hour event will be held via Zoom on Wednesday, December 2, 2020 from 3pm-5pm. Pre-registration is required.

More information about the National Teacher of the Year process, as well as Tabatha’s bio, is available here:

Any questions can be directed to Nicole Madore, Early Childhood Specialist, at nicole.madore@maine.gov.

Computer Science in Maine: Updates and News

Resilient even amidst a pandemic, the computer science education community is continuing to grow and expand computer science opportunities throughout Maine. Many partners including the Maine Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA), Maine Department of Education, Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance (MMSA), Educate Maine, and others are working together to make sure that computer science education is available to Maine students throughout the state. Check out these upcoming computer science learning opportunities for students and educators below!

Virtual Family Code Nights

Date/Time: Various Dates, November 2nd through December 9th

In the past three years, more than 100 Maine schools and community organizations have hosted Family Code Nights. These events have brought together nearly 3,000 children and parents to learn how to code side-by-side. Now, the makers of Family Code Night have started a program called CS is Elementary.

It’s simple and free for Maine elementary schools to get involved. Visit Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance’s Family Code Night Host site to learn more – https://mmsa.org/familycodenight/

CS Connected

Date/Time: Wednesdays, 12pm

A weekly virtual series for college students, produced by Project>Login & UMaine’s School of Computing and Information Sciences. Check out CS Connected on Eventbrite to register for upcoming sessions.

CS Educator Happy Hour

Date/Time: Thursdays, 5pm

Are you teaching computer science or interested in doing so in the future? Join a virtual Zoom gathering of the Maine Computer Science educator community to engage in themed informal interactions. Email angela@educatemaine.org for the link to join!

CodeHS

Date/Time: November 12th, 4:30pm

Join a one-hour workshop for middle school teachers on JavaScript using Intro to Programming with Karel the Dog.

Click here to sign up for this event, hosted by Maine CSTA President, Sean Wasson.

Would you like to see your computer science events and news listed in a computer science release? Are you doing something new and exciting with computer science that you want to share with the rest of the community? Reach out to Emma-Marie Banks, Computer Science Specialist at the Maine Department of Education. emma-marie.banks@maine.gov

Community Learning for ME Offers November Wellness Wednesdays for Educators

Community Learning for ME will be hosting wellness related workshops and activities for teachers on Wednesdays in November. All workshops are FREE to attend and participants will receive contact hours for participation in live sessions.

November 4th, 11th and 18th:

7:15 – 7:30 AM – Start your day with a meditation session, physical activity or a good laugh.
12:00 & 3:00 PM- Workshop sessions to provide teachers with a variety of practical and applicable wellness resources.

Self-Care is never selfish! For more information and to sign up visit Community Learning for ME or contact Megan Leach, Communications and Content Coordinator for Rural Asperations at megan@ruralaspirations.org.

Early Childhood Text Studies: Free Professional Development for Educators

Specialists from the Maine Department of Education’s Early Learning Team are excited to offer a web-based professional development opportunity for early childhood educators in the Pre-K and Kg grade span. Participants in this opportunity will get the chance to explore strategies for managing student trauma and mental health behaviors through a text study of both Responding to Student Trauma by Stephanie Filio, M.Ed. and A Practical Guide to Mental Health & Learning Disorders for Every Educator by Myles Cooley, Ph.D.

The text studies will take place virtually in hour-long sessions on a weekly basis between November 30, 2020 and April 2, 2021:

Responding to Student Trauma by Stephanie Filio, M.Ed is tentatively set to run Nov. 30-January 8, 2021 (with a scheduled holiday break).
A Practical Guide to Mental Health & Learning Disorders for Every Educator by Myles Cooley, Ph.D. is tentatively set to run January 11, 2021 through April 2, 2021.

The learning groups will be limited to 48 participants each. Goals of this professional learning opportunity are to improve participant awareness and understanding of what causes student trauma and to acquire strategies for how to better educate our students exhibiting behaviors related to trauma, mental health, and learning disorders.

Those interested are welcomed to register for one or both studies. Participants will receive a copy of the book(s). Contact hours will be provided at the end of each text study.

Registration is free and can be completed here. Registration closes November 13^th at 5pm. Participants will be notified on a first come, first served basis.

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

Registration Open for FREE Virtual Future Teachers Academy Oct. 20-21

Open to Maine high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors, this free, virtual Future Teachers Academy will be held on Oct. 20, 1:00 – 3:00 pm and Oct. 21, 2:00 – 4:00 pm. The event is for students who are interested in exploring the field of education.

During the academy, students will have the opportunity to imagine themselves as a future educator as they: design a game idea for a future classroom, problem-solve challenges, and collaborate with peers throughout the state.

Any students who are interested in creativity, leadership, and making a positive difference in the world through education are encouraged to attend the academy. The Future Teachers Academy is a collaboration between Thomas College, The Maine State Teachers of the Year program, and the Maine Department of Education. #TeachMaine #LoveTeaching

Resilience Strategies for Educators: Techniques for Self-Care and Peer Support

Created in partnership with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Safe and Supportive Schools (OSSS), the Resilience Strategies for Educators: Techniques for Self-Care and Peer Support (RSE) Train-the-Educator (TtE) Virtual Training by Request (VTBR) is a virtual learning opportunity for caregivers in schools and school districts to better understand, and teach others, resilience strategies following emergency events.

TRAINING DETAILS
When: Monday, October 26, 2020
Time: 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET
Training Link: https://remstacenter.adobeconnect.com/rse-tte-augusta-maine-school-safety-center/
Cost: NO CHARGE

Register for this virtual training session online at: https://www.remstacenter.org/TBR/TrainingRegistration.aspx?trainingsid=4349

Registration for this event closes on Friday, October 23, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. (ET).

For more information, download this flyer (PDF).

This class kicks off the Maine Department of Education (DOE) Maine School Safety Center’s 2020-2021 training series. MSSC will be hosting a different class every month for the next 5 months:

Resilience Strategies for Educators: Techniques for Self-Care and Peer Support Train-the-Educator
Developing Emergency Operations Plans (EOPs) K-12 101 Train-the-Trainer
Developing Emergency Operations Plans (EOPs) K-12 101 Train-the-Educator
School Behavioral Threat Assessments: An Introduction
Conducting K-12 Site Assessments with SITE ASSESS

For more information contact the Maine School Safety Center.

Maine DOE Update – October 9, 2020

From the Maine Department of Education

Reporting Items

Important Reminder and Webinar Assistance: Due Date Approaches for Quarter 1 (Q1) Attendance, Behavior, Bullying, and Truancy Data Review

In order to assist SAUs with their legislatively mandated data reporting, the Maine Department of Education Data Team is offering a free webinar to review the requirements and new features. The webinar is strongly encouraged for those responsible for the compilation and entry of the required data. | More

| Visit the DC&R Reporting Calendar |

News & Updates

MEDIA RELEASE: Mills Administration Updates COVID-19 School Health Advisory System

The Mills Administration released its regularly scheduled update to its color-coded Health Advisory System that classifies counties’ relative risk of COVID-19 transmission by color. It is provided to assist schools as they continue with their plans to deliver instruction and support students safely this fall. | More

MEDIA RELEASE: Portland 4th Grade Teacher Named 2021 Maine Teacher of the Year

In a unique, limited audience outdoor event held at the Gerald E. Talbot Community School in Portland, the Maine Department of Education and Educate Maine named fourth grade teacher Cindy Soule Maine’s 2021 Teacher of the Year. Students and colleagues at the school were able to watch the event via a live broadcast from their classrooms. | More

Resources for Schools to Address Tobacco Use, Vaping

The MaineHealth Center for Tobacco Independence and local District Tobacco Prevention Partners have free resources to support Maine schools in addressing tobacco use and vaping. | More

Resources for Celebrating Indigenous People in Schools

In recognition of Indigenous People and the upcoming Indigenous Peoples’ Day holiday, the Maine Department of Education (DOE) is sharing resources and information that educators and schools can use to integrate Native American history and culture into classrooms and school activities to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day and to teach and honor our native culture year round. | More

Maine Schools Join Others Around the Nation to Recognize 2020 National School Bus Safety Week October 19-23

2020 National School Bus Safety Week theme: Red Lights Mean Stop! The theme is derived from the Poster Contest the year before. The 2019 winning poster, depicted above, was drawn by Bryan Torres-Tavarez, a 12th Grader at Stars Academy in Paterson, NJ. | More

MEDIA RELEASE: Maine Department of Education Opens Applications for 2020/2021 Student Cabinet

The Maine Department of Education (DOE) today announced that it is opening applications for the 2020/2021 Student Cabinet, a group of students that meet regularly with Commissioner Makin and other leaders at the Maine DOE to discuss educational opportunities, improvements, and policy. The purpose of the Student Cabinet is to provide a forum for Maine students’ voices to be heard. | More

MEDIA RELEASE: Maine FrontLine WarmLine Now Available to Support Maine School Staff

The “Maine FrontLine WarmLine” is now expanding its services to include Maine’s educators and school staff. The Maine FrontLine WarmLine is a phone support service that provides Maine’s essential health care workers, first responders, and now school staff with help in managing the stress of providing essential services during our fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The volunteers help callers address concerns with anxiety, irritability, poor sleep, grief or worry and, if needed, connect them with additional supports. | More

Maine Career Development Association Hosts Art & Poetry Contest for Maine Students

In celebration of National Career Development Month in November, the Maine Career Development Association is sponsoring a statewide Poetry & Art contest, that is open to students and adults state-wide. | More

Get to Know the Maine DOE Team: Meet Emily Doughty

Maine DOE Team member Emily Doughty is being highlighted this week as part of the Get to Know the Maine DOE Team. Learn a little more about Emily. | More

Maine Schools Sharing Success Stories

How Ashland District School has Adapted to Make Music Education a Priority
RSU 16 Gets Creative to Offer In-Person Adult Ed Graduation

| Submit your Maine School Success Story |

Professional Development & Training Opportunities

Register Now for the ACTEM 2020 Virtual Fall Conference!

The Association of Computer Technology Educators of Maine’s (ACTEM) annual Fall 2020 conference will be held virtual online this year and is coming up in a couple of weeks on Oct. 20-21st. | More

Attendance Matters: Transforming School Climate and Culture During COVID

This upcoming training offers wo half-day interactive sessions that are relevant for staff working remotely, in-school or hybrid plan. It is offered on Wednesdays, October 28th and November 4th from 12:00-2:45 pm OR Fridays: November 6th and November 13th, 8:15- 11:00 am. | More

FREE Resilience Strategies Training- Save the Date!

SAVE THE DATE! Monday, October 26, 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM – The National Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) in partnership with the Maine Department of Education’s School Safety Center (MSSC) presents Resilience Strategies for Educators and Community Partners: Techniques for Self-Care and Peer Support Train-the Educator | More

| Visit the Professional Development Calendar |

Latest DOE Career/Project Opportunities

View current Maine Department of Education employment opportunities here

FREE Resilience Strategies Training- Save the Date!

SAVE THE DATE! Monday, October 26, 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM

The National Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) in partnership with the Maine Department of Education’s School Safety Center (MSSC) presents!

Resilience Strategies for Educators and Community Partners: Techniques for Self-Care and Peer Support Train-the Educator

This session is designed to provide a learning opportunity for school and district caregivers to better understand, and teach others, resilience strategies following emergency events. (COVID-19 certainly qualifies!) The intended audiences for this training include but are not limited to: school counselors, school psychologists, school social workers, school and district administrators, educators and support staff, and community partners such as local mental/ behavioral health practitioners and SROs/police.

Free participation is limited to 475 attendees.

The registration link will be posted next week. For more information view this flyer (PDF)

The staff at the MSSC hope to see you there, virtually of course!

Important Reminder and Webinar Assistance: Due Date Approaches for Quarter 1 (Q1) Attendance, Behavior, Bullying, and Truancy Data Review

The Quarter 1 Reporting and Certification Webinar will be held on Wednesday, October 14th from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm.

Click here to register

The certification period for Quarter 1 (Q1), which includes attendance, behavior, bullying, and truancy opens October 1st. Review and certification are required by October 15th.

Quarter 1 attendance will be used for the average daily attendance (ADA) reporting requirements for Title V. There will not be a separate Title V ADA collection.

Why? Each year the US Department of Education begins the process for determining Title V eligibility for both the State and Federal grants, starting in late November. Part of that eligibility is asking each state to provide several pieces of data on all their districts, including average daily attendance (ADA). Without this data, no district would be eligible for the Federal (Small Rural Schools Achievement or SRSA) grant, and districts that are eligible for the State (Rural Low-Income Schools or RLIS) grant would get a reduced allocation, as 30% of the allocation formula is based on ADA from all eligible districts.

Attendance data certification can be found here, and guidance on reporting attendance can be found here.
Behavior data certification can be found here, and guidance on reporting behavior can be found here.
Bullying data certification can be found here and guidance on reporting bullying can be found here.
Truancy data certification can be found here, and guidance on reporting truancy can be found here.

If you have difficulties navigating to Synergy or NEO, please call the Helpdesk at 624-6896 or email at medms.helpdesk@maine.gov .

All due dates for reports are listed on the MDOE reporting calendar. All quarterly reports are based on the following months, not on a school’s scheduled quarters:

Quarter One (Q1)– As of Oct 1 (to include July, August, Sept) – due Oct 30
Quarter Two (Q2) – As of Jan 1 (to include Oct through Dec) – due Jan 15
Quarter Three (Q3) – As of April 1 (to include Jan through March) – due April 15
Quarter Four (Q4) – As of July 1 (to include Apr through June) – due July 15

Register Now for the ACTEM 2020 Virtual Fall Conference!

The Association of Computer Technology Educators of Maine’s (ACTEM) annual Fall 2020 conference will be held virtual online this year and is coming up in a couple of weeks on Oct. 20-21st. ACTEM’s mission is to influence and enhance education in Maine through the use of technology. Our conference offers workshops, keynotes and exhibitors centered around this mission. The conference is a popular event for Maine educators each fall.

ACTEM is offering our conference this year for FREE to all current members. If you are not a member of ACTEM you can join for the $20 annual individual membership fee and attend. We know school budgets have been impacted in these difficult times, so we want to provide this valuable PD experience for a very modest cost to Maine educators.

Workshop schedule and information:

This year’s schedule has been changed to an afternoon & evening format so no subs would be necessary. We have also shortened the online workshop sessions to 45-minutes as we all spend more time online. ACTEM has a great lineup of over 60 workshop sessions plus two outstanding keynote speakers. Click the links below for detailed schedule and workshop session descriptions:

Tuesday, Oct. 20th Program

Wednesday, Oct 21st Program

Feature Keynote Speakers:

Anthony Johnson, Jr. — Tuesday, Oct. 20th at 6:30 PM

Currently an Apple executive and formerly a North Carolina teacher that transformed his science and social studies classrooms into “Johnsonville,” a world where each student must find a job, pay the bills, pay mortgage and taxes, and learn by doing projects.

Keynote: My Journey from High School Dropout to Teacher of the Year
In my school years, I was a terrible student and a teacher’s nightmare who stayed in trouble. During that time, I failed 4th, 7th, 8th, and 9th grades before dropping out of high school at the age of 16. I received my G.E.D. and moved from job to job for nearly a decade. In 1998, I lost both my parents six months apart and spent time reflecting on my life and decided to make a change. A year later, I enrolled at Livingstone College and graduated in 4 years with a degree in Elementary Education. My goal is to teach with enthusiasm and give my students a different experience from my own in grade school. Teaching is my passion, and my desire to help young people succeed has allowed me to travel the world as an educator.

Kerry Gallagher — Wednesday, Oct. 21st at 6:30 PM

Assistant Principal for Teaching and Learning at St. John’s Prep in Danvers, MA. She is also the Director of K-12 Education for ConnectSafely.org

Keynote: The People in Your School are the Key to Cybersecurity
How do we keep our students safer in the digital age and in the virtual classroom? Cybersecurity and student data privacy are increasingly important as more of our educational, social and work environments move online during this time. How can we incorporate these best practices in the virtual classroom and how will we work with both parents and students to increase awareness?

Registration for ACTEM 2020 is open at the following link: http://www.actem.org/event-3932165