NOTICE: Maine School Wellness Summit POSTPONED, New Dates TBD

Regretfully, due to low registration, the 2019 Maine School Wellness Summit planned for June 25 & 26 has been postponed. The Maine Schoolsite Health Promotion Program (MSHPP) Planning Committee is committed to hosting the planned two-day agenda in the 2019-20 school year. We are thankful to the scheduled presenters, who have indicated that they are very willing to work with us to deliver their presentations at a future date.

Registrants should have received an email from the planning committee via Cristina.stade@maine.gov. If you have additional questions, please email either Cristina or susan.berry@maine.gov.

Please know that the decision to postpone was made with great thought and consideration of presenter cost, time and efforts, as well as the desire for participants to have a robust and collaborative experience.

The MSHPP Planning Committee wishes everyone a restful, rejuvenating, and well-deserved summer break.

New School Nurse Orientation Registration Now Open!

If you have hired or will be hiring a new nurse for your school over the summer, be sure to include THIS workshop in their new hire work plan. The New School Nurse Orientation is a specialized program, designed to help nurses transition into the educational setting which is very different than hospital, urgent care, or other medical settings. Some of the topics included in the newly revised sessions include a review of the School Nursing Scope and Standards of Practice, certification requirements, resources, a review of Maine’s Nurse Practice Act, medication administration policies in schools, screening requirements, concussion management, communicable diseases, and much more. The 2-day session in August will be followed by additional virtual support sessions via Zoom, the first scheduled for September 26.

When: August 14-15, 2019
Where: Bangor Savings Bank, 5 Senator Way, Augusta Maine
2^nd Floor Conference Room
Cost: $60 for both days to cover the cost of lunch and materials

If you have any questions, please contact: Emily Poland, MPH, RN, School Nurse Consultant, at 207-624-6688 or Emily.poland@maine.gov

Successes Shared by Districts at Closing Event of 4-Year Preschool Expansion Grant

(Pictured: Kindergarten teacher Heidi Sturgeon, pre-k teacher Olesia Pazdro, and Curriculum Director Suzanne Day from MSAD 55- Sacopee Valley, talk to the audience about their goals for their Birth – Third Grade Action Plan.)

The Maine Department of Education hosted a closing event of the 4-year Preschool Expansion Grant (PEG) that was awarded to Maine DOE in December 2014 by the US Department of Education. Eighteen states were awarded grants to support local school districts in the development of new preschool classrooms, and to expand access to high-quality, full-day pre-k programs for children whose families were at or below 200% Federal Poverty Level.

Maine used the grant to launch and expand pre-k programs for 13 districts in Maine, 8 of which used the opportunity to partner with local Head Start programs. The districts included RSU 12, RSU 13, MSAD 17, RSU 23, SAD 37, SAD 44, RSU 55, RSU 74, Cornville Regional Charter School, Cherryfield, Lewiston (Longley Elementary), Millinocket, Vassalboro. The 13 districts were chosen for their percentage of students with an economic disadvantage and willingness and availability to embark on the effort.

The grant allowed these districts to add or expand their pre-k classroom spaces and resources, hire and train needed teachers in using evidence based curricula and instructional practices, align appropriate assessment of pre-k students with kindergarten assessments, develop a plan for kindergarten transition, and form a community literacy team, all as part of a long-term “Birth to Third Grade plan” that aligns with the districts’ strategic goals. The grant implementation was supported by grant coordinators at each of the participating districts, and trained coaches, all of whom were former Maine educators.

A cross-section of state employees from Maine DOE, Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and Child Development Services (CDS) worked collaboratively on this project, with facilitation provided by the Education Development Center (EDC).

*(Left to right) Sarah Adkins, Kathryn Zwicker, Nena Cunningham, Karen Bergeron, Nicole Madore, Lee Anne Larsen, Dee Saucier, Sue Reed, Crystal Arbour, Jessica Nixon, Rich Meserve, David Jacobson.*

Three years into the 4-year grant, tremendous improvements in child outcomes were celebrated, including:

76%-86% of children moved out of the high-risk identification in all developmental domains
76%-96% of children moved out of high-risk identification in literacy skills (predictive of kindergarten success)
53% of children moved out of high-risk identification in the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, which assesses receptive language and is a predictor of later reading success

The end of the year event was an opportunity for each of the participating districts to present their Birth to Third plans to their peers and to reflect on their successes, lessons learned, and plans moving forward.

IMG_0196_cropped — RSU 12 Curriculum Coordinator, Deb Taylor (right) and Southern Kennebec Child Development Center Head Start Director Cristina Salois (left) shared details of their action plan with the full audience which included a “ghost walk” to each pre-k classroom across the district’s 4 elementary schools. This was an opportunity for pre-k teachers to share and collaborate on environmental design and instructional practices and learn from one another.

The gathering included presentations by each participating district, who all began by sharing varied and often-times unique community challenges. For example, while some experienced a lack of licensed child care providers to connect with and engage families early on, another had migrant families with students in and out of school frequently. There were many other unique community characteristics shared, yet all of the districts had the common challenge of a high percentage of families facing economic disadvantage.

The common areas of focus for each Birth to Third Grade action plan included a focus on quality, shared teaching and learning practices, family engagement starting before children enter pre-k, a focus on positive transitions from pre-k to kindergarten, social emotional learning and trauma informed teaching.

The closing event was a successful day of presenting, idea sharing, and collaboration by early childhood educators from across the state who will now be able to continue their research based, and collaborative birth to third grade plans for district-wide success and beyond.

Seeking Innovative Educational Leaders to join Maine’s Leadership Development Program

The Maine Department of Education is excited to announce the launch of Maine’s Leadership Development Program (Maine LDP), an initiative designed to build and strengthen instructional leadership skills among Maine’s educational leaders at the school, district, and state levels. In our ongoing efforts to support and foster the educational expertise in Maine, educators who aspire to do the same are invited to take advantage of this high impact opportunity!

The launch phase will focus on building a strong foundation for making the program widely accessible. The Maine DOE has partnered with the National Institute for School Leaders (NISL) to prepare the first cohort of candidates to become certified trainers and facilitators of future cohorts, providing a unique and rewarding leadership opportunity. The Maine DOE’s ESEA Federal Programs, School Turnaround, and Higher Education and Educator Support Services teams are collaborating to provide the executive leadership training to instructional leaders across Maine. Maine’s LDP brings together the Maine DOE’s successful Transformational Leaders’ Network with NISL’s nationally recognized Executive Development Program (EDP).

Maine’s LDP is delivered through a blended learning model and includes study, inquiry, and hands-on activities with practical applications that meet the rigorous expectations for today’s educational leaders. In the first cohort, NISL experts will deliver the Maine LDP curriculum and provide additional training for Maine LDP facilitators. Successful graduates from the initial cohort will deliver the Maine LDP curriculum to future cohorts regionally. Completion of the program can contribute to credit hours for participants pursuing an advanced degree or contact hours for re-certification purposes.

Benefits for Maine Schools

Prepares educational leaders to lead for excellence and equity
Increases student achievement, fosters a culture of high expectations
Enhances teacher recruitment, retention, and quality

Program Curriculum

Nationally researched, evidenced-based, and locally delivered in a cohort model
Improves the practice of leadership, transforms instruction and student achievement in schools
Consists of 12 two-day units, delivered in 12 to 15 months
Bridged with online coursework, readings and job-embedded application of key concepts

Characteristics of Ideal Candidates

A belief in and commitment to improving instruction and increasing student achievement
Experience (five years) in a leadership role at the school, district, and/or state level and background as a classroom teacher. Ideal candidates include, but are not limited to, principals, assistant principals, instructional coaches, deans, Title I directors, department leaders, ESEA coordinators, special education directors, English Learner directors, assistant superintendents, instruction and curriculum directors, and superintendents.
Excellent communications skills; able to effectively facilitate professional development for peers
Demonstrated skills in mentoring and coaching
Experience as a successful practitioner—able to translate concepts to actions, theory to practice, and programs to craft
Able to participate in the entire NISL program and become certified as a Maine LDP facilitator
Likely to live and work in Maine for the next five years

The Department encourages experienced educational leaders to consider applying to join the initial cohort of candidates to become certified Maine LDP facilitators of future cohorts. Please visit http://www.maine.gov/doe/educators/maineldp for more information and email nisledp.doe@maine.gov with any questions. The schedule and application can be found here.

FREE Facilitated School Team Problem Solving Opportunity!

We are very excited to announce that the Maine Teacher Leadership Committee (Teach to Lead® Maine), in collaboration with the Maine Department of Education, United States Department of Education, and the University of Maine Farmington, will be hosting the second annual Powered By Teach to Lead® Summit on August 16, 2019. This event encourages teams of teachers and administrators to identify a problem of practice or area of need in their school/district and develop a concrete plan to solve the identified problem/issue at their school. Each team will be paired with a critical friend who will serve as a facilitator throughout the day. All active Maine educators are welcome to submit ideas as individuals, but we strongly encourage schools/districts to bring a team of stakeholders to make the best progress at the Powered By Teach to Lead® Summit. Examples of problems of practice that teams identified for the 2018 summit included: trauma-informed schools, development of a makerspace, teacher-led professional development, arts education, and more!

Please consider joining us for this FREE event on August 16th, 2019 at University of Maine Farmington. As space is limited for this event, idea submissions will be reviewed by a team of education professionals, and invitations for participation, with registration details, will be emailed to those accepted.

Teach to Lead® Maine is a statewide effort, uniting educators, policy-makers, and the greater community around the common vision that every Maine student will benefit from the purposeful involvement of teacher leaders who collaborate in guiding the continuous improvement of schools and the teaching profession. For more information about teacher leadership, please visit the Maine Department of Education’s website.

Application Link: http://tinyurl.com/poweredbymaine
Flier PDF: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OAoAx94jopzyGiss5GJISMu9-8lyo0A5/view?usp=sharing
Twitter Handle: @TeachtoLeadME

Emily Gribben
Educator Effectiveness Coordinator
Maine Department of Education
(207) 624-6748

Maine School Wellness Summit

Refill your wellness toolbox with tools (strategies, resources, and programs) to build an action plan for healthier staff, students and school environments starting with two outstanding educators each day:
June 25th: Murray Banks is a motivational speaker and world champion athlete with roots in teaching school. He lives life with a passion for health and well-being every day. This year he will focus his message on the importance of positivity on one’s overall health using hilarious images, imaginative videos, and poignant classroom and personal stories that will inspire all of us.
June 26th: George Manning returns to the Wellness Summit with more tools, resources and insights focused on life, work and the pursuit of balance. He will engage the audience with his enchanting personality and stories that come from more than 40 years of experience teaching psychology at the collegiate level and traveling the country helping organizations and businesses develop healthy and productive work environments.

Maine School Wellness Summit

Regional Think Tanks – Maine Department of Education Wants to Brainstorm With YOU!

Ready for the end of the year? Can’t wait for summer? Before you shift to the summer season, help us to reflect on the 2018/2019 School Year and keep the momentum of discussion for education in Maine.

The Department of Education is hosting several opportunities to collaborate and share experiences in different regions during the 2019 Summer Think Tank series. Join us for half a day to discuss your preferred topic or stay for the day and participate in two sessions. Lunch will be provided in between the morning and afternoon sessions.

All interested members of your school community are invited to attend, however, an RSVP is required in advance. Please be sure to select the activity/activities (including lunch) so we can be best prepared to host you.

TOPICS INCLUDE:

ME Defines School Success: As part of a statewide conversation, this session will focus on how we define the success of our public schools. Participants will contribute to the identification of common values across the state, tell us what makes your schools successful, and propose ideas as to how we can expand the conversation and how we can use the outcomes of the conversation to promote our public schools.

MLTI: Come and join a conversation about the Maine Learning Technology Initiative (MLTI). Participants will engage in facilitated activities where they will share experiences, ideas, and feedback on the past 18 years of MLTI and discuss hopes for the future of the MLTI program. Considerations may include devices, device distribution and management, infrastructure, professional development, and funding.

Special Education: Join us for a discussion of what’s working well with special education and what we can improve upon. Share your input on how we can better serve our students with disabilities and provide supports for schools and school administrative units.

Educator Excellence: To ensure that all students receive an excellent education that prepares them to succeed in today’s world, we must systematically increase the quantity and quality of our teaching workforce. This session is looking for feedback on issues related to increasing the recruitment and retention of talented classroom teachers. Topics include high retention pathways into the teaching profession, teacher professional development, and teacher leadership (career lattices that allow teachers to assume leadership roles without leaving the classroom). We are looking for school and district administrators as well as educators to participate in small group discussions to explore these topics. These conversations will assist the Department in enhancing policies and programs to attract and retain outstanding educators for Maine students.

Educator Readiness (7/8 PM Only): This session is an opportunity to provide feedback on a number of areas that impact educator readiness including diversity and equity, talent needs, professional development for educators, student teaching, the changing candidate profile, among others. We are looking for school and district administrators as well as educators to participate in small group discussions with representatives from Maine’s educator preparation programs to explore these topics. This conversation will assist the Department in enhancing policies and programs to support the changing needs of our schools, educators, and students.