READFIELD – It’s time for reading class in the second grade at Readfield Elementary School.
Rather than remain in their assigned classrooms, students from the school’s two second-grade classes combine forces, and their teachers break them into reading groups based on ability level.
The latest version of Gov. Paul LePage’s two-year budget package restores health insurance premium support for teachers who retire before they reach age 65.
Continue reading “Budget change affects teacher retiree health insurance”
A science teacher at Waterville Junior High School is one of 17 teachers nationally in the running for a science lab makeover valued at $20,000.
Continue reading “Waterville teacher competes for lab makeover”
Looking for resources to teach a lesson about mercury contamination?
The Schoodic Education and Research Center at Acadia National Park might have the resource you need.
You could feel some excitement in the air on Friday in the not-always-exciting hearing room of the Maine Legislature’s Education Committee.
That’s when a slate of bills addressing what we expect our students to be able to do once they graduate came up for hearings before the committee.
Continue reading “Setting high standards, and sticking to them”
The Maine Legislature’s Education Committee held public hearings May 6 on bills that address standards-based high school diplomas, a strategic plan for education in Maine, a statewide model curriculum and innovative school zones.
Representatives from the Department of Education, including Commissioner Stephen Bowen, offered the following testimony to the legislative panel:
Continue reading “Bills propose standards-based diploma”
Maine Gov. Paul LePage participated in a panel focused on education policy on May 6 during a Republican Governors’ Association conference in Nashville, Tenn.
Continue reading “LePage talks education at governors’ confab”
School nursing has become a specialized practice focused on supporting students’ well-being and academic success.
There’s never a dull moment here at the Department of Education.
This week, bills seeking to expand school choice and overhaul the state school funding formula came up before the Legislature’s Education Committee. In this update, we begin to keep you apprised of the Department’s positions on such high-profile issues.
On top of that, it’s Teacher Appreciation week, so we’re busy recognizing the good work of our teachers.
We’ve heard positive comments from you on our efforts to communicate less often, but more effectively. Continue to let us know how we can do it better. And shoot us an email if you have an idea for a story you’d like to see featured in this publication.
— Stephen Bowen
It’s fitting that during Teacher Appreciation Week we acknowledge an undeniable truth in education: When it comes to advancing student learning, the most important thing a school system can do is put an effective teacher in the classroom.
