A panel of district leaders who have experienced the challenges and the success of developing and implementing Performance Evaluation and Professional Growth (PEPG) systems shared their success strategies with more than 100 participants from across the state at a recent seminar hosted by legal firm Drummond Woodsum in partnership with the Maine School Management Association.
Continue reading “District leaders share educator evaluation system implementation strategies”
Turner Elementary School in MSAD 52 is one of 287 public schools across the country to be named a 2014 National Blue Ribbon School for high levels of student achievement.
Continue reading “Turner Elementary named Maine’s National Blue Ribbon School”
The board and staff of the Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance have selected Ruth Kermish-Allen, currently Director of Education at the Island Institute and a resident of Appleton, as the organization’s next Executive Director.
Continue reading “MMSA selects Ruth Kermish-Allen as Executive Director”
Note: This is a joint letter from Commissioner of Education Jim Rier and Guy Cousins, director of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services in the Department of Health and Human Services.
Continue reading “Schools encouraged to prepare for Alcohol Awareness Day”
Maine schools are encouraged to enter the Verizon Innovative App Challenge, a creative and collaborative competition that offers up to $20,000 in grants for winning middle schools and high schools. Designed to ignite students’ interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), the Challenge shows students exciting new possibilities for their futures, opening doors they may never have known were there.
Continue reading “Maine schools encouraged to enter Verizon Innovative App Challenge”
Commissioner Jim Rier will see how the high achieving district is working toward graduating students with proficiency-based diplomas starting in 2019
BANGOR – Maine’s Education Commissioner will spend Thursday in the classrooms of the state’s third largest school district to see how proficiency-based education is transforming teaching and learning there.
Commissioner Jim Rier will be in Bangor to tour Vine Street School (preK-3), William S. Cohen School (grades 6-8) and Bangor High School with Bangor School Department Superintendent Betsy Webb.
Bangor schools are among the state’s highest achieving and proficiency levels are well above the state average at the middle and high schools that Governor Paul R. LePage’s Education Commissioner will visit. Both schools earned a B on the report cards released by the Maine Department of Education last spring. Continue reading “Education Commissioner to visit Bangor schools Thursday”
Last week I had the honor of announcing Jennifer Dorman as the 2015 Maine Teacher of the Year.
Mrs. Dorman, who dreamed of being a teacher since her very first day of Kindergarten, has been a special educator in Somerset County schools for two decades, most recently at Skowhegan Area Middle School (SAMS) where she is a seventh-and eighth-grade special education and reading intervention teacher.
Those who have had the privilege to learn from Mrs. Dorman – whether as a student or a colleague – were not surprised she received this recognition. And because she noticed the school floors being polished and the lawn being mowed the day before, even Mrs. Dorman had a hunch she wasn’t coming into the auditorium at SAMS for a student fundraising assembly last Thursday.
More Notices | Administrative Letters | Reporting Calendar
In a surprise all-school assembly, Maine Education Commissioner Jim Rier announced Skowhegan Area Middle School’s Jennifer Dorman as Maine’s top teacher. | More
The final deadline for districts looking for an extension in implementing a proficiency-based diploma requirement is next week. | More
Maine Commissioner of Labor Jeanne Paquette announced that the Mid-Maine Technical Center has earned the Safety and Health Award for Public Employers (SHAPE). | More
Governor Paul R. LePage recently joined state and local officials, representatives from law enforcement, business and community leaders and victims’ advocacy groups at the Blaine House to mark the beginning of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. | More
The Maine DOE is asking superintendents to participate in a survey on the use of instructional coaches. | More
In response to a confirmed case of Enterovirus D68 in a southern Maine school, the Department is providing schools guidance from the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. | More
Schools in Maine and across the nation are recognizing National School Bus Safety Week, Oct. 20 through 24. | More
School administrative units (SAUs) and private schools approved for tuition purposes are expected to establish regional school calendars. | More
The Maine DOE is proposing changes this fall to the rules regarding the provision of child find, early intervention services, and special education and related services. | More
The United States Environmental Protection Agency will again make funds available for the School Bus Replacements Rebate Program beginning this fall. | More
As originally noted in a dispatch dated June 4, changes to the MEDMS Educator Quality and Effectiveness (EQE) Survey are still in progress. | More
The Maine Public Broadcasting Network recently announced the formation of the MPBN Junior Broadcaster Board. | More
More Dispatches | Press Releases | From the Commissioner
Last week I had the honor of announcing Jennifer Dorman as the 2015 Maine Teacher of the Year.
Mrs. Dorman, who dreamed of being a teacher since her very first day of Kindergarten, has been a special educator in Somerset County schools for two decades, most recently at Skowhegan Area Middle School (SAMS) where she is a seventh-and eighth-grade special education and reading intervention teacher.
Continue reading “Celebrating Maine’s 2015 Teacher of the Year”
The final deadline for districts looking for an extension in implementing a proficiency-based diploma requirement is next week.
Earlier this year, the Department released six extension request options to provide the time and support districts say they need to undertake the thoughtful, systemic change needed to ensure quality implementation of systems that support the awarding of proficiency-based diplomas starting in 2018.
Continue reading “Final deadline for proficiency-based diploma extension applications Oct. 18”
Schools in Maine and across the nation are recognizing National School Bus Safety Week, Oct. 20 through 24. During the same week, schools will acknowledge the importance of bus drivers to a student’s education with Bus Driver Appreciation Day.
Continue reading “Schools recognize National School Bus Safety Week, Bus Driver Appreciation Day”
