New Extended Learning Position at Noble High School Connects Student with Dream Job

Lynn Kovitch is new to her role as Noble High School’s Extended Learning Opportunities (ELO) Coordinator. Thus far, she has spent a lot of her time building relationships with local businesses, organizations, and individuals in the community.

In addition to her research and leg work, Kovitch co-leads an ELO Class serving Noble High School’s Multiple Pathways Alternative School housed within the building where they are finding ways to engage students outside of the classroom. “I continue to meet new students, learn about their interests and place them in job shadows, paid work, and internships,” she said. As part of that process, she helps students with job applications and resumes and has conversations about post-secondary options including arranging career and college visits, as well as scheduling and bringing students to volunteer in the community.

“Now that we have a dedicated staff role to help our students find opportunities outside of the classroom, it feels like we are suddenly able to do more, and ideas we had are becoming a reality,” said a teacher from Noble High School Multiple Pathways Alternative School.

In describing a recent success, Kovitch explained that Noble High School has worked with a junior that applied and did not get into vocational school for the Automotive Program. After sharing his interest in working with his hands and learning anything about cars, Kovitch worked to find him a placement at a local garage. She went with him for an informal interview at a small garage this fall and the owner offered the student a job.

“He came up to me during the school day, looked me in the eyes, and thanked me. He gets to build a relationship with the shop owner, learn more about working in the automotive industry, and get the hands-on experience he had hoped for,” explained Kovitch. “This was one of the first of a handful of ‘work-study’ ELO’s and has motivated me greatly to continue helping students find placements- especially for those who did not get a spot in the vocational program.” Noble High School has students placed in many businesses in the area, including in childcare, welding, autobody and cosmetology.

Kovich goes on to explain that moments like these are the perfect example of why she loves her job so much. When students thank her for helping them locate opportunities outside of school that engages them in their passions and interests. “Seeing students genuinely excited to pursue their interest while building their confidence about their future and the many things they are capable of!”

Kovitch says that looking forward, Noble High School plans to grow its group ELO offerings next semester in addition to expanding its ability to transport students. She said they are also working on partnering with local organizations like Cooking Matters and Junior Achievement Maine to offer more life skills like financial literacy, cooking and budgeting in group ELO’s. This is all of course in addition to her continued efforts to match students with local businesses as she has worked so hard to do in the first half of the school year.

“We are excited to keep expanding our program as I settle into the role and get to know the community better,” she said.

Kovich extends a special thanks to some of their new community partners: Berwick Early Learning Center, Cabana Salon and Tanning, True Enterprises, Cabana’s Auto Body, Greater Works Land Trust, Riverside Farm and Another Chance Animal Shelter & Second Hand.

Extended Learning Opportunities (ELOs) are hands-on, credit-bearing courses outside of the traditional classroom with an emphasis on community-based career exploration. These opportunities are personalized for students and help them explore options for their professional lives. They help students engage in learning through instruction, assignments, and experiential learning. The Maine Department of Education (DOE), along with state-wide partner Jobs for Maine Graduates (JMG), have made a concerted effort to provide working models, support, and funding opportunities for Maine schools to set up ELO programs within their school communities. To learn more about Maine’s initiatives with extended learning opportunities, visit: https://www.maine.gov/doe/index.php/learning/elo or reach out to Maine DOE ELO Coordinator Rick Wilson at rick.wilson@maine.gov.

Maine FIRST Lego League Championship Brings Together Twenty-Four Robotics Teams at Spruce Mountain High School

(Pictured: The RoboSharks in a team huddle before presenting to judges.)

The 23rd annual Maine FIRST Lego League Championship on December 3rd was another success with two dozen teams from around the state coming to Spruce Mountain High School. Hosted by the Blue Crew out Farmington, all 24 teams shared their innovation projects with judges in the morning and competed in the robot performance in the afternoon. Teams came from Brewer, Caribou, Jay, Oakland, Old Town, Vinalhaven, Winslow and other towns mentioned below to present their innovative projects to judges and test out their robot designs on the field.

The Champion’s Award went to the Smart Fun Engineers (Team 16492,), who, for the fifth consecutive year won the Robot Game Award with their robot’s high score of 270 points. They will now have an opportunity to represent Maine at the international FLL event in Texas in 2023. Their win included defeating the Gardiner Iron Tiger Cubs (Team 48102) in the “Just for Fun” playoff finals.

The fifth consecutive Champion’s Award for the Smart Fun Engineers was a thrill for these eighth graders who have been classmates and teammates for several years.

The Champion’s Finalist Award went to STEAM Powered Knights (Team 34104) from the St. George School. The team, led by coach Amy Palmer, is comprised of all new-to-the-game eighth graders. They performed strongly in the three judged areas – Core Values, Robot Design and Innovation Project.

Members of the STEAM Powered Knights present their innovation project that focused on transforming PFAS contaminated areas into solar farms.

The Core Values Award went to the team from the Leeds Central School (Team 52374), who exemplified inclusion and teamwork in their performances and projects. The Core Values Finalist Award went to the Smart Fun Scientists (Team 57933).

The Innovation Project Award went to the Legendary LEGO Coop Kids (Team 51454) from the Berwick area, who despite being a young team had another strong performance this year. The Innovation Project Finalist Award went to the RoboSharks (Team 14407) from the Shapleigh School in Kittery, who made an impressive debut at the event in a team of all fifth graders.

The Robot Design Award went to the Electronic Mustangs from the CK Burns School in Saco and the Robot Design Finalist Award went to the Renewable NRG Bars from Orono Middle School.

The Outstanding Volunteer Award went to Dr. Laura Guerney from UMaine, whose involvement in the FIRST Lego League events and mentoring of judges has been invaluable over the years. The Coach/Mentor Award went to Chris Herrick, whose positive and focused leadership has been key to the success of the young Legendary LEGO Coop Team in the past few years.

To learn more about opportunities for Robotics in Maine schools, check out Robotics Institute of Maine (RIM). For information about computer science in Maine schools, please check out the Maine Department of Education’s Computer Science page. If you have a robotics success story at your school, email jonathan.m.graham@maine.gov.

RSU 13 and Healthy Acadia Extended Learning Opportunity Coordinators Highlighted at First ELO Regional Day

Steffany Tribou, an 18-year education veteran and Assistant Superintendent for RSU 13 (pictured right), and Corrie Hunkler, ELO & Youth Engagement Coordinator at Healthy Acadia (pictured left) were panelists at JMG’s first North Regional Connection Event for Extended Learning Opportunity (ELO) Coordinators recently.

JMG’s Regional ELO Coaches are hosting bi-annual Regional Connection Events in the North, Central, and South regions of Maine, with Central and South scheduled for the week of 12/12 (read more about the schedule here). The events are intended to bring together education, workforce, and others interested in ELO work to share best practices, which is what Tribou and Hunkler are doing.

In her role at Healthy Acadia, Hunkler is the director for Downeast Teen Leadership Camp, a camp designed and led by youth. She runs youth employment programs and supports schools and organizations to engage youth in meaningful ways. Prior to her role with Healthy Acadia, she was a Guidance Counselor at four rural schools. As an ELO coordinator she is working with 5 schools to design, implement, and expand ELO offerings in coastal Washington County.

In her many roles in schools and districts, Tribou has always been passionate about finding ways to better prepare students for their future, and has been instrumental in seeing internships and ELOs taking hold, which she feels is important work that breathes life into what education can look like for students in Maine. During her presentation, Tribou shared a rap that she created based on the Hamilton play. The rap emphasized the need for ELOs to be available to Maine students in order to support a healthy economic future for Maine and the people who live here. Check out audio of the rap here.

Celebrating Playful Learning in Pre-K Expansion Classrooms

Laughter and rich conversations fill the air as teachers join students in purposeful play in Pre-K Expansion Grant classrooms across the State. Play based learning promotes engagement, curiosity and creativity. When teachers join children in their play they can scaffold learning opportunities, model language, introduce complex vocabulary and prompt deeper thinking through effective questioning. Play provides an opportunity for social learning and the development of executive functioning skills. In play, both the heart and the mind of the child are nurtured, reducing behavioral issues and supporting wellbeing while building the skills they need to be successful in school and beyond.

Pre-K children engage in a variety of different types of play in centers or interest areas in their classroom. Real-life imaginary play is incorporated into the dramatic play and building areas in Appleton’s new Pre-K classroom. This type of play allows children to think beyond the confines of their classroom and use their imaginations as they explore ways to use the materials they have to represent what they see in their minds. This type of play not only fosters creativity, but it also lays the foundation for symbolic representation with letters and numerals.

Maine DOE Contract Grant Specialist, Jane Kirsling, gets her temperature checked in the dramatic play area during a visit this fall.

Educational Technician, Natalie Kunzinger, joins children in the block area where they are using magnetic blocks to build houses.

Creativity and problem solving are integral parts of play in the art area. Children in the Greenville Pre-K classroom use art materials to express themselves and create projects based on a story their teacher has read to them. Concepts of color, shape, texture, and position are built through conversations about their work. Teachers support children in developing important problem-solving skills when they join children in their play, and help to build growth mindsets by letting children try out their own ideas, and by encouraging them to try again if they are not successful.

Education Technician, Erin Denham, supports Pre-K children as they problem solve how to attach the curly pipe cleaner tails to their pig pinata.

Teachers do a lot of work behind the scenes to make play purposeful. They carefully plan centers and other learning activities around central themes and make intentional connections between the activities to help children see the purpose in what they are doing. While there is always a place for intentional instruction, Pre-K teachers work to bring playful elements to their lessons.

Greenville teacher, Allison Boulier, builds letter identification skills by having her class go on a letter hunt.

Teacher, Monica Jodrey from Cave Hill School in RSU 24 integrated science, math, fine motor and language development into a pumpkin exploration that kept her whole class engaged for the afternoon

Pre-K classrooms are busy places. Play affords the opportunity to support learning across all domains and can even make “down time” a productive learning opportunity. Pre-K teacher, Marion Freehill, from Peninsula School in RSU 24, captured the enthusiasm her class had for their fire fighter puppets. You can also see the work her students have created to reflect on their play during centers time. Capturing their thoughts in writing helps them to see their ideas as important and is the first stage in them seeing themselves as writers.

Pre-K students enjoy putting on a puppet show at snack time each day.

If you wonder about the value of children spending most of their day playing in our Pre-k classrooms, don’t worry! In the words of Maria Montessori, “Play is the work of the child”. Even the American Academy of Pediatrics agrees. In 2018 they released a clinical report advising that doctors write prescriptions for play. In the report they said, “Play is not frivolous; it is brain building” and lauded play as being fundamentally important to learning problem solving, collaboration and creativity. But perhaps Lenore Skenazy, president of the non-profit Let Grow which promotes childhood independence and resiliency, put it best, “Play turns out to be so stunningly essential to childhood it’s like love, sunshine and broccoli all juiced together”.

The classrooms included in this article are all beneficiaries of the Maine Jobs and Recovery Plan’s Pre-K Expansion Grant. The grant supports districts beginning new Pre-K classrooms or expanding the hours or number of days they serve students in existing programs. Ten districts across the state were recipients in the first round of grants. Round two awards will be announced soon.

If you have questions or would like more information about Public Pre-K, the Pre-K Expansion Grant or the importance of play in early education, please contact Sue Gallant Maine DOE Pre-K Expansion Consultant at Sue.Gallant@maine.gov and/or Nicole Madore Maine DOE Early Childhood Specialist at Nicole.Madore@maine.gov.

Lowell Oyster Named 2023 Maine’s National Outstanding Assistant Principal of the Year

The Maine Principals’ Association (MPA) is pleased to announce that Lowell Oyster, Assistant Principal of Bonny Eagle Middle School in Buxton, has been named Maine’s National Outstanding Assistant Principal of the Year. He will be honored by the MPA at its annual awards banquet at the Spring Conference on April 27, 2023, at the Samoset Resort in Rockport, Maine.

Mr. Oyster received this award because of his strong emphasis on community outreach. He has the ability to build connections across diverse stakeholders and goes to extraordinary lengths to meet the needs of students and staff. He loves being an assistant principal and believes it is the best job in the world.

In announcing Mr. Oyster’s selection as 2023 Maine’s National Outstanding Assistant Principal of the Year, MPA Executive Director, Dr. Holly Blair noted, “The MPA is pleased to recognize Lowell Oyster as Maine’s National Outstanding Assistant Principal of the Year. He is a reflective educational leader who people seek out and look to for guidance and leadership. Mr. Oyster focuses on the strengths of the people he works with to lift and accentuate each team member, making the overall school community stronger.”

Mr. Oyster received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary Education from the University of Maine, Orono, in 2005. In 2007, he earned his Master of Science Degree in Middle Level Education also from UMaine. He then obtained his Certificate of Advanced Studies from the University of Southern Maine in 2015.

Mr. Oyster started his educational career as a math/science teacher at Bonny Eagle Middle School in 2007. During this time, he took on the following school and/or district level leadership positions: Clan Leader, Symposium Leader, Math Meet Coordinator, Continuous Improvement Team member, Certification Steering Committee member, and was the 7^th grade Baseball Coach. In 2017, Mr. Oyster became the Assistant Principal of Bonny Eagle where he has served in this capacity ever since.

Mr. Lowell Oyster is a member of the Maine Principals’ Association and National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP).

The Maine Principals’ Association is a professional association representing Maine’s Pre-K-12 educational leaders. The Association dates its history back to 1921 and focuses its work on promoting the principalship, educational leadership, and promoting and administering interscholastic activities in grades 9-12.

Beech Hill School Student Council Demonstrates a Passion that is Immeasurable and Contagious

Beech Hill School’s Student Council is a group of students who care about culture and community and want to serve in an important leadership role. Members of Student Council strive to consistently demonstrate their school’s four core values: respect, responsibility, caring, and honesty. They exhibit positive attitudes, work with others, and possess the desire to make Beech Hill School and the community a better place for all.

Students are not turned away from membership in the school’s Student Council. There is no election process, and interested students may join at the start of each trimester. School staff identify and build on the strengths of any 4-8th grade leader.

Student Council students will do anything to help out! Their typical responsibilities include leading daily morning announcements, helping younger students in the lunchroom, organizing spirit weeks, facilitating monthly spirit day assemblies, planning service learning projects, fundraising, and designing ways to encourage social/emotional wellness. Students are especially focused on activities that increase diversity awareness and promote inclusion.

Beech Hill School Student Council members are also ambassadors of school spirit. School spirit can become the difference between just being at a school and being at their school. Showing school spirit demonstrates a passion that is immeasurable and contagious and sets the tones for other aspects of Beech Hill School.

The last Tuesday of every month is designated as School Spirit Day. On these days, students and staff are invited to wear school colors and/or their favorite Beech Hill School gear to show their school pride. Student Council holds an assembly on each School Spirit Day for activities like promoting a message or event, showcasing a talent, recognizing a team and/or appreciating the work of an individual or group. During this time, they also celebrate birthdays of the month and hold a “green card” prize drawing. Green cards are awarded to individual students for demonstrating their school values throughout the school day.

The fundraisers that Student Council members host throughout the school year fund projects and/or initiatives, including (but not limited to) the BHS High School Scholarship Fund, BHS School Spirit Day Carnival, SPCA of Hancock County, Walmart Giving Tree, and Emmaus (Ellsworth) Homeless Shelter. Fundraisers include game concessions, Read-a-thons, family movie nights, and other events that connect people in the community.

This story was submitted by Beech Hill School as part of the Maine Schools Sharing Success Campaign. To submit at story or an idea, email rachel.paling@maine.gov.

Student Voice and Choice a Big Part of Brewer High School Extended Learning Program

“We are seeing dramatic improvement in attitude and effort on the part of our students,” said Brewer High School’s Extended Learning Opportunities (ELO) Coordinator Kevin Napolillo. “They feel that their career goals are finally being addressed and can see the value of what they are doing.”

Along with a growing number of schools and districts across Maine, Brewer High School has established an Extended Learning Opportunities (ELO) Coordinator to work with students to set up intentional career/work experiences and coordinate efforts for students to experience and learn about different jobs, career paths, and work opportunities available here in Maine and beyond.

“We have set up extended learning opportunities in the areas of auto mechanics, child psychology, and marine biology just to name a few,” said Napolillo. “We have also established a CNA [Certified Nursing Assistant] training program with a local nursing home.”

Napolillo says that the best part of his job is, “Observing the signs of realization when a student becomes aware that the school personnel will find out their likes and foster their desires for careers.”

In an effort to keep the program student directed, Napolillo has also worked to establish a relationship with the local Chamber of Commerce to develop relationships with local business owners.

It takes those strong local and State partnerships to develop and sustain a successful Extended Learning Opportunity programming and to that end, Napolillo would like to extend a debt of gratitude to: Walker’s Garage-Brewer, Brewer Center for Health and Rehabilitation, and Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce.

Extended Learning Opportunities (ELOs) are hands on, credit bearing courses outside of the traditional classroom with an emphasis on community-based career exploration. These opportunities are personalized for students and help them explore options for their professional lives. They help students engage in learning through instruction, assignments, and experiential learning. The Maine Department of Education (DOE), along with State-wide partner Jobs for Maine Graduates (JMG), have made a concerted effort to provide working models, support, and funding opportunities for Maine schools to set up ELO programs within their school communities. To learn more about Maine’s initiatives with extended learning opportunities, visit: https://www.maine.gov/doe/index.php/learning/elo or reach out to Maine DOE ELO Coordinator Rick Wilson at rick.wilson@maine.gov.

Aroostook County Teachers of the Year Lead Effort to Face Regional Teacher Shortages

Aroostook County Teachers of the Year (CTOY) Leslie Marquis (2017), Bill Guerette (2018), Kim Barnes (2019), Jocelyn Saucier (2020), and Heather Anderson (2022), along with Maine Teachers of the Year (TOY) Elaine Hendrickson (2001) and Alana Margeson (2012) came together to plan, The Future of Aroostook County Education Symposium, or otherwise known as FACES, on November 17th at Caribou Community School.

Current teachers, ed techs and paraprofessionals, interested high school students, pre-service teachers, administrators, career/guidance counselors, community partners, policymakers, and higher education representatives enjoyed an evening of conversation, collaboration, and visioning to address the critical need to both draw and keep dedicated educators in our schools as we face an unprecedented time of teacher workforce shortages in Aroostook County, Maine, and nationally.

Maine DOE Educator Excellence Coordinator Emily Doughty, Educate Maine Program Specialist Kaitlin Young, and Valley Unified School District Superintendent Ben Sirois served as keynote speakers to ground conversations about teacher recruitment and retention. Delta Kappa Gamma Society of Women Educators also supported the evening event.

“In true Aroostook County fashion, we ‘rolled up our sleeves’ and dug into the what, why, and how of teacher recruitment and retention,” said 2019 Aroostook CTOY and 8th grade Teacher Kim Barnes.

Future of Aroostook County Educators Symposium (FACES)

New STEAM Lab at Glenburn School Making a Big Impact

(Pictured: A Glenburn student looks through the telescope at the Star Party.)

Establishing a culture of creation, innovation and hands-on learning is becoming a focal point at Glenburn School. The driving forces toward that goal are a couple of long-time educators – Technology Integrator, David Davis, and Technology Director, Ken Worster. Last year the administration implemented a plan to repurpose a science lab to house materials for a new STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) Lab. Worster advocated for functional space for technology creation since the one-to-one devices had made the traditional computer lab unnecessary. Davis credits his administrative team at Glenburn for its support of this initiative and feels “fortunate that [his] administration had the vision of technology integration” in order to bring this plan to life.

The STEAM Lab consists of several technology tools including a laser cutter, green screen, a fleet of iPads, a recordable microscope, over a dozen 3-D printers, codable robots, and more. Davis and Worster’s hope is to establish the lab as an integral part of the curriculum for educators. Worster mentioned that the immediate goal is to have teachers “looking at their content and bringing it to David in a way where they can have that conversation about how they can integrate our technology.”

Even in the Lab’s infancy, Davis is already seeing its impact in the classrooms, most notably in the sixth and seventh grade English Language Arts classes. In those classes, students have been able to dive deeper into their reading by designing and printing 3-D objects or characters from their books, by recreating scenes with green-screen video, and by etching “plaques” with the laser cutter that outline the author’s biography.

Additionally, Davis and Worster envision enhanced student engagement through the STEAM Lab by incorporating it into science classes across the school. Davis integrated an astronomy theme and tiered the work for the various grade levels. Students in kindergarten through second grade used the online platform Wixie to design constellations that were then etched with the laser cutter, students in third through fifth grade also used the laser cutter to design the phases of the moon, and finally, sixth through eighth grade students created a 3-D model of a footprint that incorporating each student’s constructed quote acting as if they were to be the first ones stepping onto Mars.

Glenburn Engraving — (Left to Right) Constellations designed in grades K-2, moon phases etched in grades 3-5, 3-D printed footprint in grades 6-8.

Davis and Worster concluded the unit by coordinating with the Challenger Learning Center and the Versant Power Astronomy Center at the University of Maine to host a “star party” outside at the school. The night was a huge success with over 200 family members attending. It allowed students the chance to stargaze with a telescope which Worster noted was the first time for most of them.

Even with the initial success of the STEAM Lab, Davis and Worster know that it will take time for the innovative culture to spread throughout the school. While they admit the program is not without its wrinkles, they are hopeful that a steadfast dedication to technology integration will create breakthroughs for their staff. Davis knows that it pays off to start small and have it build from there, “If I could just get [the teachers] there once or twice, it will take on a life of its own.”

Glenburn Printers — Sets of 3-D printers at Glenburn School

This story was written and coordinated by MLTI Ambassador Rob Dominick as part of the Maine Schools Sharing the Success Campaign. To learn more, or to submit a story or an idea for a story, email rachel.paling@maine.gov.

How Morse High School is Bringing Career Exploration, Experience, and Learning to Its Students

“My role is to provide students at Morse High School with meaningful, real-life work/career exploration experiences to better prepare them for Maine’s workforce,” said Morse High School Extended Learning Coordinator Scott Stinchcomb.

Stinchcomb is one of a growing number of Extended Learning Opportunities (ELO) Coordinators working in schools and districts across Maine who all aim to set up intentional career/work experiences and coordinate efforts for students’ to experience and learn about different jobs, career paths, and work opportunities available here in Maine and beyond.

“The best part of my day is supporting students and listening to their workplace experiences and to see them growing and developing in real time,” he added.

As part of the Maine Jobs and Recovery Plan (MJRP), Governor Mills recently announced $25 million toward paid work experiences for Maine students during a visit to Morse High school. “The energy and positive enthusiasm surrounding this event was amazing,” said Stinchcomb. “It also brought much attention to the value and importance of our Extended Learning Opportunities Program.”

Morse High School has only recently gotten its extended learning program up and running but they have already placed 10 students into career exploration. So far, Stinchcomb has really enjoyed working to set up placements for his students within the local business community – he says the support has exceeded his expectations. He explains that these employee related experiences allow Morse High School students the opportunity to acquire and develop crucial career ready skills to ensure their success.

“This experience is helping me by giving me a better idea of where my future career opportunities stand,” said Libbi Wallace, a senior at Morse High School and participant in the ELO Program. “I am able to test the waters and see if this is something I could do for the rest of my life,” added Wallace who hopes to one day open and operate an early childhood education program.

In addition to placing students, Morse High School is also planning bus tours for students to visit multiple businesses and they are also in the process of planning a Career Fair, Financial Fitness Fair, and Hiring Fair for the Spring. They are also planning on inviting in potential speakers and exploring many more career exploration experiences for students this year.

According to Stinchcomb however, they definitely couldn’t do it all alone. Morse High School is working with a collaborative including Mt. Ararat, Brunswick High School, the Southern Mid Coast Chamber, Mid Coast Youth Center, Retail Association of Maine, the Maine Department of Education, Maine Tourism Association, Jobs for Maine Grads (JMG), and the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development.

“It has been a very effective and productive model to support these ELO Programs,” added Stinchcomb who also wants to thank Bath area business/community partners Terri Crocker of the Creative Play Childcare, Hair Creations, Riverview Physical Therapy, Mid Coast Youth Center, Darlings (Brunswick), and Bath Animal Hospital to name a few businesses. He is also grateful to a number of individuals such as Patrick Manual (RSU1), Eric Varney (Morse HS), Maria Morris (JMG), Rick Wilson (Maine DOE), Doug Ware (Mt. Ararat), Cory King (Southern Mid Coast Chamber) and the entire Regional Collaboration Group. Along with state-level leaders who have helped secure funding for the ELO Program.

“The benefits emerging is the undeniable strengthening of our future Maine workforce and ensuring the success of our students, our local businesses, and the State of Maine economy,” said Stinchcomb.

Extended Learning Opportunities (ELOs) are hands on, credit bearing courses outside of the traditional classroom with an emphasis on community-based career exploration. These opportunities are personalized for students and help them explore options for their professional lives. They help students engage in learning through instruction, assignments, and experiential learning. The Maine Department of Education (DOE) has made a concerted effort to provide working models, support, and funding opportunities for Maine schools to set up ELO programs within their school communities. To learn more about Maine’s initiatives with extended learning opportunities, visit: https://www.maine.gov/doe/index.php/learning/elo or reach out to Maine DOE ELO Coordinator Rick Wilson at rick.wilson@maine.gov.