Emergency Legislation: An Act to Implement the Recommendations of the Department of Health and Human Services and the Maine Developmental Disabilities Council RegardingRespectful Language [Public Law 2011, Chapter 542 (formerly LD 1845)]
Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen presents Maine’s 2013 Teacher of the Year award to Shannon Shanning, seventh- and eighth-grade special education teacher at Whittier Middle School. Click here to view more photos from this event.
POLAND – Shannon Shanning, a seventh- and eighth-grade special education teacher at Whittier Middle School, was named the 2013 Maine Teacher of the Year in front of students, colleagues, family and other distinguished guests Monday. In keeping with Maine tradition, Shanning was not informed ahead of time that the “all-school assembly” was called to honor her.
Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen presented Shanning with the award – the first awarded to a special education teacher as far back as program records indicate. Bowen also read a letter of congratulations from Governor Paul LePage.
The Maine Migrant Education Program survey has been updated for the 2012-13 school year, and the Department of Education is requesting that school units distribute it to all newly enrolled students.
Schools that receive federal Title I funds, have poverty rates of at least 40 percent and have approved Title IA Schoolwide Plans are eligible to use their Title I funds – and funds from other sources – to develop “schoolwide programs.”
Teachers at The REAL School, a public alternative and special education school in Falmouth, started an agriculture and culinary arts program this past year, utilizing adventure- and project-based service learning practices to enhance the school lunch program with locally grown produce. This brief video by Wisconsin PBS documents the school’s approach and the inspirational results.
The English versions of all the state-required special education forms have been updated. The new versions of the forms (they include the new DOE logo) now have the date of 08/01/2012 at the bottom of the last page of the form.
UPDATED: The Maine Department of Education will host a three-session autism team training for school districts beginning in November 2012. To be considered for participation in the training sessions, the application must be completed no later than September 1, 2012.
The following is a news release from the Office of Gov. Paul LePage.
HERMON – Governor Paul LePage helped kick-off a new program Monday evening that will allow students to attain both their high school diploma and an associate’s degree in five years.
The Department has translated the Maine Unified Special Education Regulations Procedural Safeguards into seven languages: Arabic, French, Khmer, Mandarin Chinese, Somali, Spanish and Vietnamese. The translations are available at www.maine.gov/doe/specialed/laws/proceduralsafeguards/.