Valerianne Hinkley of Wilton has been awarded the National 2018 George Washington Honor Medal by the Freedoms Foundation. This honor is awarded to groups or individuals who “go above and beyond the call of duty” on a local, regional or national level which promotes good works and serve their communities on an ongoing, day-to-day basis.

17 year old Valerianne is a member of the Class of 2020 at Mt. Blue High School in Farmington, Maine. She created her own anti-bullying campaign in 2017 after being bullied herself. The campaign has since reached international levels, including being recognized by the national Bullying Project, in Canada and has been invited over to the Italy headquarters should she be in the area for a visit.

Be Bold Stand Up To Bullying includes a post-it notes locker project at local schools, posters of positive words and sayings, and many more initiatives that promote kindness throughout the school and community.

Valerianne meets and speaks with groups that are interested in hearing her story so that she can share her project and its goals to help raise awareness about bullying in local schools and communities, talk about how to report incidents, and share how to find resources. Her goal is to let everyone know they have a voice when it comes to standing up to bullying, no matter who you are.

East Grand School a 2019 finalist for the national State Education Technology Directors Association’s (SETDA) annual Student Voices Award, which highlights schools leveraging technology for project-based learning and workforce development. More information about each of the 5 finalists can be found on SETDA’s website.

The school has developed its own project-based learning curriculum and educators share that as a result of shifting to this model (which intentionally integrates technology), they have seen students become more willing to take risks, be more persistent when challenged by learning, show empathy and encourage others more readily, and communicate more efficiently when working in groups.

East Grand’s Nomination Video

The curriculum is designed to build a sense of and an appreciation of place (6-8) and community (9-10), as well as a sense of self (11-12). The goal is to empower students to have the skills and self-knowledge to choose a life-pathway they are passionate about and can build upon for a successful future. The learning process also helps students realize the great potential of the area in which they live and the strength of the people around them. Because of the plentiful natural resources in the area, much of the curriculum ties into and connects the students with outdoor experiences. These experiences develop science and social studies skills as well as workforce development skills like persistence, resilience, and thinking flexibly.

Some examples of project-based learning include:

• Habits of Mind: The “Habits of Mind” project introduces students to a number of attributes and practices that they will use throughout their years at the school (and in life!)
• Field Guide Project: Students created a field guide to the local area, highlighting human, natural, and civic structures. They gathered information through field trips and interviews, and used technology to create a guide that could be shared widely.  View the Field Guide
• Latvis Project: During the Latvis Project, each educator develops a project idea and students choose one to join for the month. All are community based and help students develop skills that would be great for future jobs. East Grand received the “Service Above Self” award from the Houlton Rotary Club for these projects.
• Dream Team: A subset of high school students also participate in the “Dream Team” and learn to lead the school’s Virtual Reality Makerspace – helping them gain both technical and leadership skills. 

Additionally, a website was made by East Grand students and educators to share what they do with other educators when they hosted a Learning Design Lab in March. Visit the website.

The winner of the Student Voices Award will be announced on June 22nd, 2019 and will be invited to join the SETDA conference in Washington, DC in November.

East Grand is Pre-K to 12 school located in Danforth, ME (on the borders of Aroostook and Washington counties) and is home to 140 students. The school’s culture and learning environments are highly student-centered and is connected to the small, rural community. It has a strong and supportive superintendent and group of educator leaders that foster student leadership and student ownership of learning across the PK-12 school.

For more information, contact Jennifer Gilman (jgilman@eastgrandschool.org) or Jill Plummer (jplummer@eastgrandschool.org) at East Grand School.

This submission is from the May 2019 RSU 18 Administrative Report, submitted by RSU 18 Assistant Superintendent Keith Morin.

Belgrade Central school has been challenging their students to excel in and outside of the classroom in recent months. They completed the Black Bear Book Award Program with a total of 481 books read. The fourth graders won with 165 books read, followed by third grade with 160, and fifth with 156. Educators Daniels and Bailey expressed their pride over their students’ achievements.

One group of students in Mr. Brooks’ third grade class read the Newbery Honor Book, Because of Winn-Dixie.                                                                                    

Outside of the classroom, second graders spent the day at Bond Brook in Augusta to release salmon fry into the wild. The fry were raised from eggs this winter, with 194 out of 200 surviving even through a power outage and a cooler malfunction. The students were able to witness the lifecycle of a salmon firsthand. 

A third grade class, under the instruction of Mr. Brooks, wrote nonfiction books as part of the Lucy Calkins Units of Study, which is a method of teaching literature to students in applicable ways that adapt to their needs while providing challenges. Students wrote books about the Sun, Computers, Moose, Harpy Eagles, Sloths, Hummingbirds, Flamingos, and many other topics; they then included tables of contents, headings, page numbers, captions, diagrams, and other information. The elementary students were required to perform their own research and take notes in order to write their books. More can be learned about the Units of Study method here: http://www.unitsofstudy.com/k5writing/ 

Second grade students at Belgrade Central are celebrating the last 26 days of the school year with an “ABC” countdown. Every day involves a special activity starting with a letter of the alphabet.

Kids have been learning in and outside of the classroom, but they have also been improving their fitness with the BCS Running Club. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons, you can find first through fifth graders running around baseball and softball fields. This club includes 94 students, and after every club meeting, students use QR codes to track their mileage, which totaled to 1,890 miles, the highest yet. Each session, the students’ mileage is compared to lengths of travel to certain parts of the U.S., then the students learn a fact about the given location. Twenty runners in the club have totaled more miles than the length of a marathon, with the highest at 42 miles. 

Third graders in Brooks’ class were introduced with great joy to the Newbery Honor Book, Because of Winn-Dixie. Students couldn’t stop reading the novel, finished their assignments with excitement, and at the end of the book created a number of projects based on the story. The author’s use of figurative language and more complicated vocabulary, as well as themes such as change and loss, provided a deeper learning experience for students to explore. The unit ended with a Winn-Dixie-themed party featuring menu items inspired by the book. 

Belgrade Central also had students delving into the arts, with first graders creating a mural of the four seasons. Throughout the year, the students heard stories about the seasons, explored the uniqueness of each one, studied authors and illustrators, and discussed things such as healthy living, the senses, and nature, among many other things. After finishing the mural, pictured below, students wrote about their experiences and what they learned. 

At 9:30 on a cloudy Friday morning, the three hundred students of Carrie Ricker Elementary School, Litchfield, gathered in the gymnasium to celebrate the flag of the United States of America. Among the parents and community members who congregated there were close to a dozen veterans who were honored for their service on this 9th Annual celebration at Carrie Ricker. Senator Angus King and a representative for Senator Susan Collins were in attendance as well. The walls were plastered with large, colorful posters bearing messages like, “Best Principal Ever” in farewell to the school’s retiring principal, Christine Lajoie-Cameron.

A procession of first graders was led into the gymnasium by Uncle Sam, a tall star-spangled man in a towering top hat, to the thunderous accompaniment of “The Star Spangled Banner” as the entire assembly clapped in time.

After circling around the gym, the children took a seat and the ceremony began. First graders sang before the school about flag soup, then third graders stood and spoke about the Pledge of Allegiance and its importance, after which all stood to salute the flag for the National Anthem. The second grade performed, and then the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts showed how to properly and respectfully retire a flag. Their troop leader commented that they learn how to handle the flag as part of their organization, and that the young Scouts have looked forward to participating in the ceremony for the last few years.

The winners of the writing competition were then announced. Students in all grade levels had submitted short essays or pieces of poetry, some of which the winners were then selected to read aloud.

Next, the fourth graders recited poetry, and then Senator King spoke at the podium. He told the audience about Andrew J. Tozier, who was born between Monmouth and Litchfield, and was the color-bearer for the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment during the Battle of Gettysburg, where he stood at Little Round Top with the flag under one arm while firing with a borrowed rifle from the other. The Representative for Susan Collins read a letter from the Senator shortly afterward.

Principal Lajoie-Cameron

The Senator Angus King shows students his tie clip as part of his address to the students of Carrie Ricker.

The ceremonies concluded with a choral ensemble composed of the student body, featuring a number of patriotic songs. With the impressive turnout to the event, it is almost certain that Carrie Ricker Elementary will host its 10th annual Flag Day celebration this time next year. All community members are encouraged to attend.

This story was written by Maine DOE Intern Emmeline Willey in collaboration with Carrie Ricker School. If you have a story idea or would like to submit a written story for the Maine DOE Newsroom, email Rachel Paling at rachel.paling@maine.gov.

Submitted by Evelyn Beaulieu, Director of Curriculum and Academic Achievement at RSU 25. 

On Wednesday, June 5, 2019, Bucksport Middle School (BSM) hosted teachers from around the state in a Learning Lab, sponsored by the Maine Department of Education. The Learning Lab’s purpose was to demonstrate how BMS uses technology to enhance learning, and for the visiting educators to take new ideas and skills back to their community.

One of the day’s main focuses was to have students and their experiences be front and center. Members of the school’s Digital Media Club discussed the process of establishing, then writing and distributing the school’s first Digital newspaper. Members J-Lynn Farren, Abbigail Farricker, Kasey Findley, Dylan Wombacher, Emily West, Brianna Grass, Hannah Varnum, Kelsea Gaff, Wynn Therrien and Ella Orcutt also answered guest questions regarding the success and struggles they had experienced establishing the newspaper, and what the group’s long term goals were for the upcoming years, and plans for video announcements and more.

“My favorite part was teachers asking us questions and us being able to teach them how to do stuff,” said Kasey Findley, writer of the paper’s Kasey’s Korny Korner. “I think they gained a lot of resources that they will be able to bring to future classes.”

The school’s GT Art Program had students Ella Hosford, Ayden Maguire, and Diego Harvey working with GT Coordinator Amanda Hoffert doing photo manipulation. They were able to show examples of their photos, and go over the process and technology they used to manipulate the photos.

8th graders Alyx Frazell and Wynn Therrien were on hand to show the amazing work they did with 8th Grade Social Studies teacher Donna Short’s Greek Mythology Research project. Mrs. Short used project based learning to have her student’s demonstrate their understanding of the research process. Through student voice and choice 8th graders used a variety of genres to express new learning, from posters and slide shows to Ms. Frazell’s pottery and Mr. Therrien’s computer program written in Scratch. Guests were able to see the various types of technology that were used, and how Mrs. Short integrated them into project based learning in her classroom.

The final group, were students Wynn Therrien, Dylan Courtney, Andrew Braley, Bo Provencher and Kasey Findley to demonstrate BMS’s 3D printing program. All BMS students take Information Technology class with Mrs. Braley and learn coding, and 3D printing engineering and design. Mr. Provencher and Mr. Courtney showed the boats they had designed in 6th grade, Mr. Findley discussed the bubble wands they had made in 5th grade, and Mr. Therrien and Mr. Braley demonstrated Tinkercad, the program the students use to create their 3D projects. The students went over the design process, the engineering skills that were taught, and how they used problem solving to fix issues that arose when designing their projects.

“I was incredibly proud of all of our students.” Mrs Braley stated. “It was important to us to have the students be front and center, so that instead of teachers listening to just Donna, Mandy and I, they were getting first hand testimonies and examples from the students that we are teaching, and they were able to ask them what they thought was successful and what needed improvement. Having our students be able to demonstrate their learning in such a positive way was incredibly rewarding for us.”

(Pictured: Nasra Houssein, who served as the student speaker on Tuesday night, pauses after receiving her diploma.)

Submitted by Mike Reagan, Education and Marketing Coordinator, Lewiston Adult Education.

Nasra Houssein praised the people who convinced her to return to her studies during Lewiston Adult Education’s graduation on Tuesday night in the Lewiston High School gymnasium.

The native of Djibouti dropped out of her classes last year because she could not fit them in with her work schedule. She credited Lewiston Adult Education teachers Don Roux and Amy Hatch for their encouragement along with coworkers at Trinity Jubilee Center in Lewiston.

She returned to her classes after a three-month absence. On Tuesday, served as the student speaker at graduation.

“Without all your help, it would have been difficult for me or anybody else. So thank you all for giving us your time to help us succeed,” Houssein said.

The 30 Lewiston Adult Education graduates at the ceremony received their high school credential by taking the High School Equivalency Test. The HiSET exam has replaced the GED for high school equivalency.

Beth Derenberger received the Lifelong Learner Award for her commitment as a teacher and for exemplifying the sharing of knowledge at Lewiston Adult Education. She learned rug braiding from an adult education course in Oxford Hills. After a few years of practice, Derenberger ended up teaching in Oxford Hills and at Lewiston Adult Education.

She taught rug braiding at Lewiston since 2004 and retired at the end of the Winter-Spring 2019 semester.

“I have made so many friends from my teaching. It’s awesome. Students come because they want to come. People come because they’re interested. And that’s half the battle,” she said before the ceremony.

Outgoing Superintendent of Schools Bill Webster served as the keynote speaker at graduation and received a round of applause for his support of adult education. Lewiston Adult Education Director Bill Grant gave retiring teacher Diane Whiting a bouquet of flowers during the ceremony to thank her for her service of more than 25 years.

Submitted by Peter Harrison, Principal at Young School, Saco Schools. Text Written by Ken Studtmann, Wokka Wokka Coordinator. Photos by Dr. Peter Harrison and Ken Studtmann.

For several years the Young School students have participated in a much beloved walking program during their Wednesday’s lunch time recess. The students fondly named it “Walking Wednesday”.

During Walking Wednesday, the students walk, skip, hop or move in creative movements 1/8-mile laps around the school while parent and adult volunteers track and tally the number of laps each student completes. The number of laps completed are recorded for individual students and collectively tallied for  classroom, and the entire school. For every 2.5 miles the student walks they receive an incentivizing award of a “toe token”. At the end of the year, the classroom from each grade level with the highest number of laps receives an extra recess.

Geography Lesson

For the past two years, a lesson in geography has been integrated into the program. Last year, the laps walked by the students represented a unit of distance along the Appalachian Trail. The students successfully completed 1,378 miles of the Appalachian Trail; Maine to Virginia. The student’s progress was tracked on a large map displayed in the school’s front entry hallway for students, teachers and staff, and visitors to watch the progress. This year the laps represented the number of times the students crossed the Penobscot bridge; 3,541 times and growing.

Language

As a means to further enhance the program, a language component was introduced in the beginning of this current school year with the reading of “HOW DO YOU WOKKA-WOKKA”, c 2009 by Elizabeth Bluemle, art by Randy Cecil. The book was a great inspiration to the students, staff, and adult volunteers of the program. The book’s premise of finding your own walking style was embraced by the students with lots of styles emerging. The students even changed the program’s name into “Wokka Wokka Wednesday”. The Wokka Wokka Wednesday is a much-loved program at Young School.

Fun Fact #1: The Appalachian Trail is among the longest continuously marked trails through 14 states; Maine to Georgia. The trail is marked with approximately 165,000 white blazes along the trail guiding hikers all 2,186 miles.

Fun Fact #2: The Penobscot bridge spans 2,120 feet from the east shore to the west shore of the Penobscot river. The design of the bridge’s two towers was inspired by the Washington Monument.

Fun Fact #3: Young School Students love to Walk! Last year, the Young School students collectively walked fictitiously from Maine to Virginia on the Appalachian Trail and this year they walked 3,541 times across the Penobscot the bridge.

For additional information to learn how to implement a walking program at your school, please contact Dr. Peter Harrison, Young School Principal.

Submitted by Heidi McGinley, Executive Director, Maine Curriculum Leaders’ Association.

Julie Meltzer, Director of Curriculum, Assessment, and Instruction for the Mount Desert Island Regional School System (AOS #91) is Maine’s 2019 Curriculum Leader of the Year. “I’m truly honored to join the group of curriculum leaders recognized in Maine. I’m honored to have them as my colleagues. I don’t know another group of people so focused on teaching and learning practices,” Julie said.

Julie is a passionate advocate for the learning and development of all students, leading the development of common standards the staff will “go to the mat” for across the district. She has developed community partnerships, found necessary resources, and introduced evidence-based instructional practices. But she credits widespread staff engagement in decision making for what superintendent Marc Gousse calls “marked improvement in learning and achievement and increased student success” across the district.

When she joined the district six years ago, Julie wanted all staff to have a voice in decision making and be engaged in professional learning opportunities so they would have the tools they needed to “do the best job they can for kids”. She wanted to maintain the strengths and uniqueness of each school and honor the professional autonomy of teachers while increasing student learning. The innovative professional learning and decision making structures she created made a difference.

“I’m proud of how everyone is starting to play a similar rhythm,” Julie says, “although the melodies are different, as they should be.” This year, 110 teachers and education technicians voluntarily served on a “collaboratory” – a temporary task force formed around a problem of practice, working to identify solutions, make decisions, and develop all the learning, strategies and tools needed to implement those solutions. In the process, staff and administrators became partners in professional development both in and outside the district. 100 teachers, education technicians and administrators led internal professional development sessions and 30 presented their work at state or national conferences. “Good things are happening for kids,” she said. “We’re getting to the ground of student learning and walking the talk in more ways.”

Julie’s journey to Mt. Desert began when her work at the Regional Laboratory led to a three-year content literacy consulting project in Washington County. She fell in love with Maine and with Acadia, eventually buying an old farmhouse in the area, which she and her husband started renovating on weekends. Her consulting work took her all over the country, so she ended up with two homes — a Portland rental to be closer to the jetport and a close-to-Acadia farmhouse. Her daughter started high school at Mount Desert and encouraged her to apply when the curriculum position opened. “I was lucky to be hired,” Julie said, “and I’ve been honored to have this position. I’ve learned much more in the last six years than I did earning my doctorate.”