School Civil Rights Teams Across Maine Help Launch First Annual Day of Welcome

On Friday, October 25, civil rights teams from across Maine participated in a Day of Welcome to celebrate and promote the idea that school communities are for everyone and all the parts of their identities protected under the Maine Civil Rights Act: race and skin color, national origin and ancestry, religion, disabilities, gender (including gender identity and expression), and sexual orientation. The event is sponsored by the Maine Office of the Attorney General through the Civil Rights Team Project (CRTP).

“The Day of Welcome is an important opportunity for us to ensure that all Maine students are included and welcomed in Maine schools,” said Attorney General Aaron M. Frey. “Civil Rights Teams play an important role in engaging our school communities in thinking and talking about issues which relate to the Maine Civil Rights Act. The work of these teams is premised on the belief that our communities and our state are stronger when all are welcome. I encourage all Maine students, families, and all members of our school communities to participate in this Day of Welcome and to work with Civil Rights Teams in their schools. I also encourage members of school communities without a Civil Rights Team to reach out to my office to learn how they can help grow this important program.”

The CRTP is a school-based program that supports student civil rights teams, who engage their school communities in thinking and talking about the six protected categories under the Maine Civil Rights Act. Now in its 24th year, it is available to all Maine schools, grades 3 and up, at no cost. There are currently more than 175 schools participating.

As part of the Day of Welcome, all participating teams created an inclusive welcoming message in their schools.

Schools in the news:

Yarmouth Elementary School’s Ryan Gleason keynote speaker in Haninge, Sweden

Submitted by Andrew R. Dolloff, Superintendent of Schools at Yarmouth Schools.

On Monday, October 14, Yarmouth Elementary School principal Ryan Gleason was the featured presenter to more than 120 educators in the Haninge School System near Stockholm, Sweden. Educators from Haninge had heard Ryan present at the annual Lives in the Balance summit in the U.S. and were eager to bring him to Sweden to share his message with their entire instructional staff.

Ryan’s presentations were based on the work of Dr. Ross Greene and other educational leaders and thinkers that include Thomas Sergiovanni and Todd Whittaker. Dr. Greene’s work on Collaborative and Pro-Active Solutions (CPS) was the main topic at this professional day. CPS is the non-punitive, non-adversarial, trauma-informed model of care Dr. Greene originated and describes in his various books, including The Explosive Child, Lost at School, Lost & Found, and Raising Human Beings. Ryan has worked with this model in three different school districts in Maine, bringing the concepts to Yarmouth in 2016, and has been a presenter at the annual “Lives in the Balance” summit for several years.

Gorham/Westbrook CTE Adult Ed Collaboration Brings New Opportunities to the Community

Pictured L to R: Adult Ed/CTE Coordinator Jeremy Kendall, WRVC Director Todd Fields, Assistant Superintendent Jodi Mezzanotte, Adult Ed Director Shelli Pride, and Administrative Assistant Elsbeth Bennett.

Westbrook School Department had a collective dream to one day have a robust Adult Education Program that not only helped New Mainers integrate into the community but also met the needs of adult learners in their community and the state as a whole. Three years ago, Gorham and Westbrook Adult Education programs applied for the Fund for the Efficient Delivery of Educational Services (FEDES) grant opportunity, one of three grant opportunities offered by the Maine DOE between 2017 and 2018 to provide districts with initial funding for local and regional initiatives to improve educational opportunities. In January 2018, Westbrook and their partner Gorham School District was awarded a grant to support the creation of the Gorham/Westbrook Career and Technical Education (CTE) Program, a regional adult education program that provides adult learners access to career and technical education that will prepare them for high-skill, high-demand occupations with defined pathways for advancement.

Jeremy Kendall Adult Education CTE Coordinator

Building on the strong foundation of their neighbors in Gorham, Westbrook began creating career driven educational programs for adult learners. In addition to adding Jeremy Kendall to their team, as the Adult Education CTE Coordinator, they began expanding the Adult/CTE programs starting with the difficult task of building a Commercial Driving License (CDL) course, an area where the nation, including Maine, has seen a sharp shortage of workers in a very high demand occupation.

WRVC Director Todd Fields and Jeremy Kendall standing next to one of their CDL Driving Trucks.

Finding that there were only two driving instructors in the entire state of Maine, Jeremy was lucky enough to convince one of them, Buddy Spaulding who runs a driving school in Albion Maine, to come to Westbrook and teach a course that later successfully graduated 8 students. With Westbrook’s CDL course under their belt, these 8 students are suited to take a State exam and become instructors themselves. One year later the CDL program has shown enormous success and Jeremy was happy to share that they are in the process of hiring 3 additional instructors, expanding the program to even more learners.

Students sitting in a classroom with instructor writing on white board — CDL Driving course in session.

In addition to CDL, the CTE/Adult Ed program also offers a robust Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) program and are gearing up for an expansion that will offer an automotive program, CompTIA (Information Technology skills), in addition to electrician training, building trade carpentry, and Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) certifications.

Building on the foundation that seeks to bring new opportunities to all learners, Westbrook also integrates a language acquisition component of the CTE/Adult Ed program that focuses on New Mainers who are in the process of learning English and culture in their new home here in Maine. In conjunction with their growing trades programs, they are also building out their capacity to offer these same services, with an added language skills component, to New Mainers by working closely with partner agencies to help get them work-ready.

A WRVC CNA student demonstrates a typical bedside routine, going through the steps of making a mock patient comfortable.

To distinguish themselves as a full-service program, they also go the extra mile to ensure the success of each and every learner that walks through the doors of the Westbrook Regional Vocational Center/Adult Education Program. “If they need their HiSET/high school diploma, academic or workready skills, we will help them. We will assist them with their job-hunting pursuits as well.” said Westbrook Adult Education Director Shelli Pride. “We put them in trade programs and we help them find jobs,” added Shelli.

In order to track their success, Westbrook aims to maintain relationships with their students by keeping up with their progress both in education and their professional careers. They also work with an advisory board, which is made up of local businesses that help to develop the programs and make sure they are on track to make a positive difference in the community and the State.

At a recent convening of local businesses at the WRVC, a local driving company approached Jeremy. “We are looking for drivers, do you have anyone in mind?” A question to which he was delighted to respond, “Yes, we are running a CDL-B course right now and there is a really great kid on the driving range, do you want to meet him?” The company was able to do an on-the-spot interview and they offered him a job right then and there. The student was not only a high school graduate of the WRVC program but was also enrolled in the Adult Ed CDL course at the time.

The CTE/Adult Education program recently celebrated the graduation of all 13 CNA students who sat for their state exams, which was a 100% pass rate for our CNA program.

The CTE/Adult Education program was a recent recipient of a very generous donation from the Associated General Contractors of Maine. This money will be used to support a scholarship fund for future CTE/Adult Education students.

It is outcomes like these that help solidify the need for the recently developed collaboration, and the projected success it will bring to the community.

Grateful to have the collaboration of their partners in Gorham who have a readymade adult education program that Westbrook was able to ride the coat tails of, they now have a long-term goal of offering each career-focused program to all high school students and adult learners in the region. They hope to help fill Maine’s high demand occupations by continuing to expand the opportunities they offer. Down the road, they will be looking into starting programs in both business and diesel mechanics and from there, the possibilities are endless.

This article was written by Maine DOE Staff Rachel Paling in collaboration with school leaders at Westbrook Regional Vocational Center and Westbrook Adult Education program as part of the Maine Schools Sharing Success Campaign. For more information or to submit an idea or a write-up, email Rachel at rachel.paling@maine.gov.

Dory Day teaches teamwork for a successful school year

This article was written by the Penbay Pilot and submitted to the DOE by Debra McIntyre, Assistant Superintendent of MSAD28/FiveTown CSD.

Penbay Article Dory Day During the first six weeks at Camden Rockport Elementary School, staff and students practice the School Community Building Model and work to build routines. This includes setting norms, understanding class rules and behaviors, and learning how to get along so the basics are in place to support the hard work and learning for the year.

On October 10, CRES students celebrated the culmination of those six weeks by participating in the team and community building Dory Day event which included a school wide BBQ.

Dory Day was created three years ago by Eric Martin, the Physical Education and Health teacher, to build community and develop team-building skills in the elementary school students.

“It takes a team to pull it together and I am grateful for the support of teachers, the kitchen staff, and the Community Committee to coordinate scheduling. The kids were motivated by the day and learned that it is OK to make mistakes and how to work from those mistakes together,” said Martin, in a news release.

The day featured a rotating schedule that started with an assembly followed by three activity stations. Each activity was designed to challenge groups to cooperate and work together to accomplish a task. Homeroom teachers were part of a team while specials teachers and support staff facilitated the station activity.

Kindergarten, First and Second grades started Dory Day with a morning assembly in the gym where they sang the school song, explored the meaning of teamwork, viewed a CRES video on grit which explained the value of practice and resilience, and reviewed the activity stations. The assembly ended with a cheer created from the school mission: Be Kind. Work Hard. Keep Learning. Students then participated in three team building exercises including Musical chairs, Cross the River, Walking Planks, and Team Ball Roll. Afterwards, they joined the school wide BBQ for a hard-earned meal.

Multi-age, Third and Fourth grades started their team building activities after lunch with an assembly that included the same topics as the younger grades as well as a discussion of the benefits of teamwork. They then participated in three activities.

After each activity, students reflected on the activity to enhance student understanding of team building. For example: What was challenging? What made the activity a team-building activity? Did anybody have to use grit? Why are there rules?

Grades three and four were asked additional questions to help identify how they cooperated, how they helped the group be successful, why it is important to listen, and how to work with someone who does things differently than you.

Dory Day reinforces the district and school mission of: Be Kind. Work Hard. Keep Learning.

CRES students continually work on these concepts and are looking forward to working together for the rest of the school year.

Central Aroostook Council on Education (CACE) Hosts Regional Conference

Submitted by Scott Harrison, Executive Director of Central Aroostook Council on Education (CACE), University of Maine at Presque Isle.

Presque Isle High School was the place to be on September 20, as teachers and leaders from surrounding schools came together in full force for a day-long conference called CACE Day. CACE (Central Aroostook Council on Education) is an educational collaborative that sponsors the annual event. The conference featured both local and nationally known speakers from education and related fields.

Matt McHatten, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at MMG Insurance and Chair of Aroostook Partnership helped welcome teachers and leaders and shared Aroostook Partnership’s interest in working together to connect students with ‘great local career opportunities.’ Commissioner Makin inspired a standing-room only crowd with her opening remarks, while Dr. Marc Brackett, founding director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and author of newly released, Permission to Feel, delivered a stimulating keynote address. Alex Kajitani, California Teacher of the Year and author of award-winning, Owning It, also inspired the group with his strategies for ‘acing and embracing’ teaching. More than 25 sessions followed that included professional learning opportunities for every grade level and content area. Local celebrity, Dixie Shaw, made a special appearance to thank attendees for their contributions to the local food bank. The fundraiser is the first of an annual CACE Day initiative called “Educators Care About The County.” Each year, CACE will select a community organization or group to donate funds raised during the conference.

CD2019 Commission Makin and Alex Kajitani

For more information on CACE and this year’s CACE Day event check out their website here: cacepartnership.org.

Ten Maine Students Selected to Showcase Talents at 2019 All-National Honor Ensembles

Information for the article was provided by Patrick Volker, Music Teacher at Scarborough High School and the National Association for Music Education (NAfME).

During the 2018–19 school year, 10 Maine Students, along with other accomplished music students across the United States and overseas in military base schools, will join the “best of the best” across the nation for the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) 2019 All-National Honor Ensembles on November 7–10, 2019, at the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. The Maine students who received this distinguished honor are as follows:

2019 All-National Honor Ensembles, Concert Band Roster

Katie Callahan, Alto Saxophone 2, Mt. Ararat High School, Topsham (Teacher: Ben Cox)
Chase Whelan, Flute 2, Brunswick High School (Teacher: Mike Scarpone)

2019 All-National Honor Ensembles, Symphony Orchestra Roster

Darien Gillespie, Oboe 2, Brunswick High School (Teacher: Mike Scarpone)

2019 All-National Honor Ensembles, Mixed Choir Roster

Mirabella Driscoll, Alto 2, Brunswick High School (Teacher: Ashley Albert)
Rachel Dumont, Soprano 1, Brunswick High School (Teacher: Ashley Albert)
Toby Laber-Smith, Tenor 1, South Portland High School (Teacher: Michelle Snow)
Hannah Liscord, Alto 1, Maranacook Community High School, Readfield (Teacher: Drew Albert)
Sophie Patenaude, Soprano 2, Poland Regional High School (Teacher: Julia Edwards)
Spencer Soule, Tenor 2, Richmond Middle/High School (Teacher: Virgil Bozeman IV)
Cora Stewart, Alto 2, Scarborough High School (Teacher: Patrick Volker)

“I didn’t anticipate that I’d make it into Nationals- but the moment that I found out I did is one of the happiest moments of my entire life. This is one of the biggest opportunities I’ve had, and it’s an insane honor to even be invited to participate in such a talented choir. The music is fantastic, the director is amazing, and I know it’s going to be worth all the work I’ve put into it,” said Cora Stewart who will be joining the Mixed Choir Ensemble representing Scarborough High School.

The All-National Honor Ensembles performers represent collaboration and creativity in its highest musical form. Students were chosen through a rigorous audition process. The concert band and symphony orchestra will each have 119 and 121 instrumentalists respectively, the jazz ensemble 20 instrumentalists, the mixed choir 240 vocalists, the guitar ensemble 41 instrumentalists, and the modern band 16 performers.

“I could not be more proud of [Cora’s] her accomplishments in music and I am very excited to hear this concert,” said Patrick Volker, Cora’s music teacher.

Selected students will be rehearsing a challenging repertoire in preparation for performing under the direction of six of the most prominent conductors in the United States: Tesfa Wondemagegnehu (Mixed Choir); Soo Han (Symphony Orchestra); Emily Threinen (Concert Band); Todd Stoll with Camille Thurman (Jazz Ensemble); Bill Swick (Guitar Ensemble); and Scott Burstein (Modern Band). All conductors have received top honors in their field and will spend several days rehearsing with students before the concert.

Names, schools and states, as well as music directors, of the All-National Honor Ensemble students are available on the NAFME Website.

MACTE Conference Draws 400+ Educators Statewide, Honors CTE Teacher of the Year

Maine Administrators of Career and Technical Education (MACTE) held its annual conference last week at Lewiston Regional Technical Center (LRTC). The official organization for Maine’s network of 27 career and technical education (CTE) schools, MACTE plans the conference as a place for CTE educators to convene and share ideas, hear from industry professionals, and honor hard-working colleagues.

During the opening presentation of the conference, participants were welcomed by MACTE President and host Rob Callahan, who is also the Director of LRTC. Dr. Donald Cannan, Executive Director of MACTE also addressed the crowd remarking on the utmost importance of CTE educators in the training of Maine’s current and future workforce. Following the welcoming, Maine Department of Education Deputy Commissioner Dan Chuhta presented the CTE Teacher of the Year award to Greg Cushman, an electrical instructor and SkillsUSA advisor at LRTC.

An alumnus and former educator of Westbrook Regional Vocational Center, Greg has a successful 25-year career in electrical trade under his belt. He has since returned to his roots in Career and Technical Education in a different capacity, to serve as an educator to the students in his community. Known for his outstanding student outcomes and many accomplishments, both in his professional career and in education, his nominators, LRTC Director Rob Callahan along with students and colleagues from LRTC, had this to say about Greg:

“Perhaps the most compelling aspect of Greg’s nomination for this award is the quality of his character. He is a highly approachable, thoughtful and genuine person who always looks for the good in any situation. He approaches his responsibilities as an educator, electrician and community member with utmost importance. He sets an example for those around him which is based on hard work, integrity and service to others.”

After being named CTE Teacher of the year, Greg took the stage, while the excited crowd stood in applause and his family joined him to congratulate him for this well-deserved recognition. The CTE Teacher of the Year award is administered by MACTE as a way to recognize teachers who are providing outstanding career and technical education programs for youth and/or adults in their respective fields and communities.

After hearing from keynote speaker Shawn Moody, who spoke about the Blue Collar CTE scholarship opportunity, participants attended a morning filled with a variety of breakout sessions. In addition to sessions lead by Maine DOE Leaders who provided information about State level updates, data, and funding, there were also sessions led by CTE leaders and industry professionals about various topics including understanding and supporting LGBTQ+ individuals, early college opportunities through the Maine Bridge Academy program and the Community College System, as well as workforce and industry updates from Cianbro, Apple, Inc, and Maine Army National Guard to name a few.

Conference participants also had the opportunity to attend sessions led by Maine education colleagues such as Foster Tech’s Chris MeMarco and Jake Bogar who led a session about how to fit science into any CTE class, and Ruthanne Harrison, an Engineering Teacher from Bath Regional CTE, who led a session about design thinking and 3D Printing.

A delicious lunch was served at LRTC’s well-known Culinary Arts School, The Green Ladle followed by a final session that provided tech updates for CTE educators.

The annual conference came to a close with a positive response from participants, especially for the variety of breakout sessions that provided instructors with information about common best practices. MACTE Executive Director Donald Cannan says they “plan to continue this very successful practice” as they look toward planning future MACTE conferences and events.

RSU 34 Taps Retired Teacher to Train and Mentor New Educators

Submitted by Jeanna Tuell, Principal of Old Town Elementary School.

Retired teachers are a wealth of professional knowledge and wisdom. Although the days of retirement are exciting for our teachers, we have found a way to tap into our retired teachers and have them support the next generation of teachers.

In RSU 34, we are committed to our new teachers and their development by matching them with an experienced, outstanding retired teacher named Mary Bagley. Mary was a teacher in the district for 40 years and throughout her career was always on the cutting edge of instruction, curriculum, and assessment. When Mary thought it was time for her to step away from the classroom, we were not convinced and talked her into the position of professional support and coaching for our new teachers in our K-12 district.

It has been a match of support, professionalism, and chance for our new teachers to learn from a master teacher without the intensity of evaluation. We believe this model is an incredible connection between mentor and classroom teachers not experienced in many districts. The results have been phenomenal. Teachers feel supported in every aspect of their first years in the profession and have noted the tremendous support they have received with Mary coaching them through various instructional tangles.

Accomplished Bangor High School Alum Provides Interdiciplinary Art Lesson to Students

Submitted by Kathy Harris-Smedberg, Assistant Superintendent of Schools at Bangor School Department.

Bangor High School Teachers Emilie Throckmorton and Eva Wagner recently collaborated on a unit to connect students with nature. Both visual art and creative writing share a long history of artists being inspired by nature. Wagner and Throckmorton are nature enthusiasts and have a connection with artist eco-artist Mariah Reading, a Bangor High School and Bowdoin College graduate. Their unit culminated with an adventure to Schoodic Point where Reading is the Artist in Residence. Wagner brought her Sculpture class and Throckmorton brought her Creative Writing class.

When Wagner and Throckmorton realized that Reading was chosen to be an artist in residence in Maine, they both thought about what a wonderful opportunity it would be for their students to learn from her. Mariah is positive and energetic and her mere presence would be good for students to absorb. With help from grant writer, Cathleen Neslusan and the Friends of Acadia, the trip became possible.

The day started with a talk with the artist who discussed the reason behind her eco-centered art making. Reading finds trash found in national parks and other protected places and paints bold, colorful realistic landscapes onto them. She then photographs them in front of the landscape so they blend in seamlessly with the environment. Reading has always been inspired by nature but she realized when she was in college that her work was often creating more waste which led to more degradation of the environment. She decided to do something about it and then collected trash and used it as a substrate for her work. Her artwork was so striking and unique that it commanded more and more attention as she shared it on social media. Eventually with 7000 plus followers the art world started paying attention and Mariah got sponsorships.

After Reading’s inspiring and informative talk, the students headed out with their paints, and writing prompts in hand and found a beach to create on. Some students painted, some wrote and others collaborated on an Andy Goldsworthy inspired sculpture. The students seemed awestruck by the thunderous waves and rocky shores. Many had never been to Schoodic Point and some students had never visited the ocean before.

The students responded to the environment, worked together and learned from a contemporary artist that art can make a difference. What was especially important for these students was that Reading had also been a student at Bangor High School, it made her successes seem that much more attainable. A great day was had by all and Throckmorton and Wagner are convinced that students will remember this day for a long time.

Carrie Ricker Elementary School Integrates Culture into the Curriculum

As a new addition to the community and to the school, Principal Dani Finn noticed that the students at Carrie Ricker Elementary were curious about her and her background. Being a native of the Hawaiian Islands, she was eager to share her culture and experiences outside of Maine with the students, and has found that they were just as eager to learn.

Principal Finn has since begun a “Cultural Competencies Series” which brings speakers with a wide variety of cultural backgrounds to the school to talk with students about where they are from and how that is both similar and different from the traditions found here in Maine and in the United States.

Drawing from the diverse pool of backgrounds of the various people who live right here in Maine, in the communities surrounding the Litchfield area and beyond, Principal Finn is able to welcome many folks to her school, presenting new and rich learning opportunities to the students.

Left to right: Hawo Abdille, Lewiston Public Schools English Language Learner (ELL) Intake Coordinator and Dani Finn, Principal of Carrie Ricker Elementary School

On September 26th, Hawo Abdille, Lewiston Public Schools English Language Learner (ELL) Intake Coordinator visited Carrie Ricker Elementary School to talk with 3rd graders and share her knowledge, upbringing, culture, and experiences as a native of Somalia.

As up-beat music played through the loud speakers, about seventy-five 3rd graders filed into the multi-purpose room, greeted by a wide-smiling Howa, bopping to the music and saying hello to each of the students as they took their seats. Howa was playing a video of people doing a traditional dance at a Somali wedding. She started by introducing herself and where she was from, providing a little bit of background about herself and how she moved from Somalia to the United States at the age of nine, eventually settling into the Lewiston area with her family.

First showing the students where Somalia is located on a map, Howa also shared that, like here in the U.S., people in Somalia celebrate many different holidays both religious and cultural, and have other unique customs that they treasure and look forward to. She covered a broad range of topics, everything from the way people dress to what they eat, a popular topic among the students! Students were excitedly raising their hands to ask her more and more questions.

“Does it snow in Somalia?” One student inquired. “Do you celebrate New Year’s Eve in Somalia?” Another student asked.

The patient and experienced Howa answered as many questions as she could while also carrying on with her presentation. Howa is an alumna of Lewiston Public Schools, and now proudly serves the students and families who move to the Lewiston area as they transition into the community and enroll their children in school.

As the 30-minute presentation came to a close, the students didn’t seem to fall short of yet more questions for Howa. Principal Finn asked them, “Do we want to invite Howa to come back again?” A question to which the students replied with a resounding, “YES!” Happy to oblige their invitation, Howa promised to bring Somalian food next time she comes.

In talking with Principal Finn briefly after the presentation and before she had to rush off to dismiss students for the day, she excitedly shared her success with the Cultural Competencies Series, adding that she was lucky to have the full support of her Superintendent Andrew Carlton and has been collaborating with RSU 4 Director of Curriculum, Assessment, & Instruction Kathy Martin to help integrate further cultural learning opportunities into the curriculum in multiple content areas. The series is meant to provide students with a starting point to a world of culture, knowledge, and experiences beyond their classroom walls.

Principal Finn has plans to bring a broad range of cultural speakers in to talk with all grade levels, all year long and going forward for as long as she can keep students engaged and find speakers willing to participate.

In seeing how incredibly interested and excited the students were to meet Howa, it seems like the Cultural Competencies Series could be the start of a long-standing tradition at Carrie Ricker Elementary School.

This article was written by Maine DOE staff member Rachel Paling in collaboration with Carrie Ricker Elementary School. If you would like to invite the Department to your school to write an article, or if you would like to send along a good news item for the Maine DOE Newsroom email Rachel at rachel.paling@maine.gov.