October is Dyslexia Awareness Month

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) describes dyslexia as a brain-based learning disability that specifically impairs a person’s ability to read. Other definitions (e.g., First Step Act – § 3635; International Dyslexia Association; Mayo Clinic) describe dyslexia in a similar way. The reading impairments associated with dyslexia are also unexpected in that individuals with dyslexia typically demonstrate otherwise typical intellectual functioning and developmental growth.

In preparation of Dyslexia Awareness Month, The Maine Department of Education Office of Special Services hosted a webinar with Dr. Nadine Gaab, an Associate Professor of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Dr. Gaab’s work focuses on developmental cognitive neuroscience, particularly in language-based learning disabilities. Her research in the GaabLab examines the development of typical and atypical language and literacy skills in the pediatric brain and pre-markers of learning disabilities and the development of screening tools for screening literacy milestones and dyslexia. The Webinar was titled “Screening for Early Literacy Milestones, Dyslexia, & other Reading Disabilities: The WHY, WHEN, WHO, HOW and WHERE,” the recording is available here on the Maine DOE Office of Special Services Professional Learning Page.

Be watching for additional information and resources throughout the month of October.

For additional information please contact, Anne-Marie Adamson (anne-marie.adamson@maine.gov), Dee Saucier (danielle.m.saucier@maine.gov), or Tracy Whitlock (tracy.w.whitlock@maine.gov).

Entry Level Job Safety Skills for People with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities (I/DD)

The Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire is offering free training this fall (2022) focusing on Entry Level Job Safety Skills for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities (I/DD). The training offered through Zoom is interactive, accessible, and collaborative. It is tailored to support all stakeholders who assist students in the transition to employment, including high school students with I/DD, as well as employers, Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors, Special Education Teachers, and Educational Technicians.

Get more information and register here.

Download the PDF Flyer.

For More Information Contact Caitlyn Fulton Caitlyn.Fulton@unh.edu

IN-PERSON TRAINING: Amplifying Students’ Voices in the Transition Process: Outcome-Oriented Planning using Person-Centered Approaches

We can promote success for our students by partnering with them to understand their visions for the future and amplify their voices in the transition planning process. But how can we provide a structure for students to articulate their visions? How can we make time for students to engage in the experiences they need to achieve their future goals among other instructional priorities?

This training will provide strategies for assessing and promoting career pathways through education, work experiences, and other predictors of post-school success. You will engage in community resource mapping with other training participants using case studies to identify and plot resources within your communities. The session will culminate in each participant’s creation of an individualized action plan to bring back to your school, agency, or community with support from the trainers and other participants.

Date and Time: Thursday, September 22, 2022, 10:00am-2:00pm ET

Location: University of Maine at Augusta campus

Presenters: Josh Taylor (UMaine), Janet May (UMaine- Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies), and Gina Oswald (UMaine-Farmington)
Cost: $75.00

Register today! Once you register, you will receive an automated email confirming your registration, with directions to the training site.

Questions: Contact Lara Enein by email at lara.enein@umb.edu

WEBINAR: Outcome-Oriented Planning for Transition-age Youth

Transition planning is critical to ensuring that students’ educational experiences result in success after graduation. But transition planning can also be a daunting task for educators and other practitioners. What are the right pathways to get our students where they need to be? Where do we begin? This session will discuss how we can use person-centered and backwards planning to anchor transition to the outcomes students want for themselves. You will learn practical strategies for engaging students and families through reframing the transition planning process to develop students’ career potential. In this webinar, you can connect and share ideas with other practitioners through small group discussions in breakout rooms. Presenters will also host interactive Q&A discussions.

Date and Time: Tuesday, August 30, 2022, 2-3:00pm ET Location: Online (Zoom)

Presenters: Josh Taylor (UMaine), Janet May (UMaine- Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies), and Gina Oswald (UMaine-Farmington)

Cost: $25.00

Register today! Once you register, you will receive an automated email confirming your registration. We will send reminders closer to the event date with the webinar URL link.

Questions: Contact Lara Enein by email at lara.enein@umb.edu.

WEBINAR: Screening for Early Literacy Milestones, Dyslexia, and other Reading Disabilities

Dr. Nadine Gaab will host a webinar, “Screening for Early Literacy Milestones, Dyslexia, and other Reading Disabilities: The WHY, WHEN, WHO, HOW and WHERE on September 28, 2022 from 3:30-4:30 pm

Audience: General & Special Educators, Administrators, Parents, Caregivers and Community Members Interested in Early Literacy, Dyslexia & Reading Disabilities

Cost: FREE please register for ZOOM Link here

This session will address:

Screening for literacy milestones and reading disabilities, including developmental dyslexia in early grades (pre-K-2nd)
The WHY behind the screening movement with a strong focus on the neurobiology of reading development and reading disabilities.
The ‘Dyslexia Paradox’
Important constructs to screen for with a developmental lens
Practical steps for implementing a screening protocol in various educational or clinical settings.
Different screening instruments and criteria for picking the right screener
Educational and clinical implications of screening and early identification in young children.

About the Presenter: Dr. Nadine Gaab is an Associate Professor of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Nadine’s work focuses on developmental cognitive neuroscience, particularly in language-based learning disabilities. Her research in the GaabLab examines the development of typical and atypical language and literacy skills in the pediatric brain and pre-markers of learning disabilities and the development of screening tools for screening literacy milestones and dyslexia.

She is the 2019 recipient of the LDA Award (Learning Disabilities Association America) for her work on learning disabilities. In 2018, Nadine was presented with the Allan C. Crocker Award for her advocacy on behalf of children with dyslexia and reading disabilities and efforts around the recent passage of the Massachusetts screening legislation (under the guidance of Decoding Dyslexia MA). She has also been recognized by the International Dyslexia Association in her receipt of the Norman Geschwind Memorial lecture 2020 and the Alice H. Garside Award for outstanding leadership in advancing the science and advocacy of dyslexia. She is an international speaker, frequently presenting to teachers on the brain science of typical and atypical literacy development.

If there are additional questions please email Tracy (Tracy.W.Whitlock@maine.gov), Anne-Marie Adamson (Anne-Marie.Adamson@maine.gov_) or Dee Saucier (danielle.m.saucier@maine.gov).

Job Openings for First4 AmeriCorps Program – Info Session 7/8

Child Development Services (CDS) in collaboration with Kennebec Valley Community Action (KVCAP)/Educare Central Maine are recruiting for the First4 AmeriCorps program. If you know someone interested in working with young children please share the AmeriCorps information found at https://www.flipsnack.com/…/americorps…/full-view.html.

An information session will be held on July 8th at 8:30am – Interested people may register here. If you are interested in learning more about this program, please plan to attend the information session to learn more, meet current members, hear what they do in classrooms, and ask questions.

For further information please reach out to agiallombardo@kvcap.org.

Maine PBIS Announces First Training of Trainers and Coaches Cohort

The Maine Department of Education (DOE) and the University of Maine System (UMS) are pleased to announce the first Maine PBIS Training of Trainers and Coaches cohort.

Maine schools and districts are experiencing the positive impacts of the Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports’ (PBIS) evidence-based framework with over 75 schools currently implementing PBIS with more being added each year. Additional trainers and coaches are needed to provide support for newly implementing teams.

Please go to https://bit.ly/MEPBISToTInfo to learn how you can become a Maine PBIS Tier 1 Trainer and Coach. If you have any questions, please contact Karen Robbie at karen.robbie@maine.edu .

Maine Dyslexia Screening Project

Maine Revised Statute 20-A M.S.R. § 4701-B requires school administrative units to screen students in kindergarten through second grade who have difficulty in these areas:

phonological and phonemic awareness
sound-symbol recognition
alphabet knowledge
decoding skills
rapid naming skills
encoding skills

Screening measures, by definition, are typically brief assessments of a particular skill or ability that is highly predictive of a later outcome. Screening measures are designed to quickly differentiate students into one of two groups: 1) those who require intervention and 2) those who do not. A screening measure needs to focus on specific skills that are highly correlated with broader measures of reading achievement resulting in a highly accurate sorting of students. (IDA, Universal Screening: K-2 Reading Fact Sheet: For a downloadable PDF, click here.)

The Maine Department of Education Office of Special Services, to support Maine SAUs in the purchase of a high-quality literacy/dyslexia screener, is offering a reimbursement program of up to $4,500.00 for Maine SAUs that select a screener that demonstrates each component of the reimbursement criteria.

In accordance with Maine’s tradition of local control, the Maine Department of Education does not mandate a specific screener. We invite school units to submit information from the appropriate vendor that demonstrates the alignment with the Maine Dyslexia Screening Project Evidence Document.

If an SAU is looking for guidance of screeners that may meet the criteria for reimbursement, there are some states that have done screener reviews based on information submitted but assessment publishers. The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Center for Instructional Support has a page dedicated to Early Literacy Screening Assessments that may be helpful.

For more information or to submit your SAU’s evidence document, please contact Anne-Marie Adamson at anne-marie.adamson@maine.gov.

Maine Educators Embark on North Star Journey: FableVision Learning & Maine DOE Launch Year-Long Initiative to Foster Creativity with Educators and Students

Maine’s Department of Education’s State Agency Program Team set sail on a creativity journey to transform teaching practice and classroom outcomes through a unique partnership with Boston-based educational company FableVision Learning, founded by Peter H. Reynolds.

“We were eager to provide equitable access to quality instruction to Maine’s vulnerable youth in therapeutic education settings to enhance special education programming after the difficult times caused by the pandemic, when emotional and social issues have been heightened,” explained Dr. Mary Adley, Coordinator of State Agency Programs. “We wanted to provide staff and students a sense of excitement and creativity to view their world with optimism and we knew FableVision Learning would help us achieve that.”

Adley and her team provide oversight to educational programming for state wards and state agency clients. This includes the General Supervision System of Monitoring for Maine’s approved Special Purpose Private Schools. Her team also offers special education technical assistance, professional development, and support to Maine educators, students, and families for Maine children in the care or custody of the Department of Health and Human Services or the Department of Corrections, educated in all settings, both in public and private settings and within Maine and placed in out of state settings.

“Our team is delighted that FableVision is embedding the Department’s Maine MOOSE (Maine Online Opportunities for Sustained Education) modules as curricular/content to guide educators in developing creative and specially designed instruction needed to meet each student’s Individual Education Program,” shared Dr. Tracy Whitlock, Coordinator for Special Projects.

This multi-level program of support integrates evidence-based instructional strategies, such as elements of Dr. John Medina’s “Brain Rules,” with intentional focus on social-emotional welfare for both staff and students. Every month, educators from 9 agencies representing 25 schools meet virtually for the Creative Maine workshop and the FableVision Learning team guides discussions and activities around creative instructional design and inspiration to enhance teaching practice. A community of practice is provided on FableVision’s collaborative learning platform The Creativity Circle.

“We are exploring with teachers ways to expand the pathways for students to demonstrate their knowledge and to engage in deep and creative thinking,” explained Sara Smith, FableVision Learning’s creative curriculum developer. “Creativity in the classroom empowers both teachers and students to maximize their talents and make meaning.”

In addition to student projects highlighted in the Creative Maine course, educators are utilizing the FableVision Learning’s The North Star Program to further develop student voice and creativity.

“The essential outcome of education is for students to know who they are and what they can give to the world,” Jane Reynolds, president of FableVision Learning said. “The classroom is where they should be able to explore their strengths, learn resilience, and discover their power to create in a safe and supportive environment.”

Based on the themes in the book “The North Star,” by FableVision founder and New York Times bestselling-author/illustrator Peter H. Reynolds, The North Star Program is a guide to creating a classroom where students uncover their true potential.

“I have found The North Star Program to be very adaptable. I can integrate it with the existing social skills curriculum as well as adjust lessons to fit the variety of learning levels in my classroom,” explained Teresa Dickson, participating educator from NFI Sidney River Bend.

The program includes best practices for setting up the classroom and establishing a positive, creative climate as well as 18+ weeks of activities and projects that help students develop their strengths, values, and goals that will start laying the path to the future selves they want to be. Activities include teamwork challenges, problem solving projects, social-emotional games and experiences, literature exploration and discussions, and personal reflection writing pieces.

“Since I have begun using The North Star Program, I have watched my students become more confident in their learning and more accepting of themselves and others,” Dickson said. “The lessons can be taught in sequence or be pulled out to target a specific concept or skill. I was able to easily integrate The North Star Program with the Common Core Standards. The North Star Program hits many content areas such as music, art, writing, reading, and poetry.”

In 2022, Maine Department of Education’s State Agency Programs and FableVision Learning will continue the Creative Maine journey as educators continue to explore creative problem solving and creative classroom management.

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About FableVision Learning

FableVision Learning is a Boston-based company founded by Peter H. Reynolds, New York Times best-selling author/Illustrator who has been inspiring teachers for over three decades with his message books for all ages, animated films and creativity software. FableVision Learning’s tools, curricula and programs are informed by the philosophy in Reynolds’ books, which encourages teachers to create bravely on their own creative journeys as they lead the way for their students. Along with its award-winning suite of research-backed learning games and animation software, FableVision Learning also develops custom, in-class/hybrid remote programs for educator/leader PD, after school, CTE, and summer learning, with a focus on storytelling, creativity and SEL.

About Maine Department of Education Office of Special Services

The Maine Department of Education – Office of Special Education is dedicated to improving results for students with disabilities by providing leadership, support and oversight to local education agencies. The Office of Special Services is committed to ensuring the provision of a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment for children with disabilities (ages 3 to 22) as well as early intervention services to infants and toddlers (birth through age 2). Our work is accomplished through collaboration with families, school districts, public and private agencies, and other programs.

Office of Special Services to Host Office Hours on Transition and Extended Eligibility

The Office of Special Services will host regular office hours to access Transition and Extended Eligibility information weekly, 11:00am on Wednesdays, starting on May 11th.

We will cover Transition topics that are important to all IEP (Individualized Education Plan) stakeholders, including student involvement, elements of transition to include in IEPs, adult services and supports after high school, transition programs and portfolios, and diversity, equity, inclusion and justice in transition to adulthood.

The office hours will provide time for participants to share, collaborate, and highlight best practices for transition/extended eligibility and enable them to learn about transition to adulthood topics, including the transition IEP process.

To receive a link to join the office hours, please register here.

For further questions, reach out to Titus O’Rourke at titus.orourke@maine.gov.