Get to Know the Maine DOE Team: Meet Erin Reinhard

Maine DOE team member Erin Reinhard is being highlighted this week as part of the Get to Know the Maine DOE Team.

What are your roles with DOE?

Certification Specialist, I evaluate applications for certification and support educators in the field.

What do you like best about your job?

I love e-mailing with educators. It is extremely gratifying to assist educators in finding the answer they are looking for, helping them complete a requirement, and most importantly letting them know they are certified. I send around 500 e-mails a week and I enjoyed every single one of them (I am not joking)!

How or why did you decide on this career?

I did not intend on this career pathway, but my favorite jobs were ones where you get to assist someone to completing a goal. Every day I get to help someone complete something they have been striving to attain, whether for a few months or for years. When they cross the finish line I am as happy for them as they are exciting to be done.

What do you like to do outside of work for fun?

I hate to say it, but my favorite thing to do is spoil my tiny white dog! He might argue that it is torture, please see picture for example.

Aroostook County Students Featured in Local Vaccination Campaign

In collaboration with community agencies, Aroostook County Action Committee (ACAP), through the Aroostook Public Health District Vaccine Awareness Subcommittee and WAGM-TV, continues to roll out a marketing campaign featuring local “celebrities” sharing their stories about why they chose to receive their COVID-19 vaccination, and why they are encouraging others to do the same.

The latest in the series of public service announcements features County youth explaining to their peers and the community why they got vaccinated. The spot was released just as many County schools prepare to go back into session for the new school year. Like the previously released spots featuring adults, youth featured in the video clips come from across the geographic and demographic landscape of Aroostook County.

Check out the video below:

Prepare for Fall 2021 Lead Testing in Schools

The Maine Legislature passed a law requiring all school drinking and cooking water fixtures be tested for lead. All schools will either need to work with their local water professional or use the provided training materials to identify water sampling locations, collect water samples, coordinate with the designated laboratory, report results, and follow up with plans/procedures/actions based on the sampling results. Schools should designate someone for this responsibility.

Samples can be ordered on October 1st, 2021. To begin preparing for your sampling, visit our website at www.medwp.com/schools.html to download instructions.

Communication is Key

Before you begin sampling for lead in your school’s drinking water, it’s recommended that you communicate your efforts to parents and guardians. Make it known that by collecting lead water samples, your school is working toward creating a healthier and safer learning environment for students.

Staying ahead with your messaging is proactive and builds trust.  Attached is a template your school can use to develop your messaging:

If you have specific questions about the program you can contact the Drinking Water Program at 207-287-2070. You can also visit Maine’s Childhood Lead Poisoning website, or by calling 866-292-3474.

DOE Data Training 8/24: Submitting Homeless Student Data

The Maine Department of Education (DOE) Data Team will be holding a training session on August 24th at 10am to discuss how School Administrative Units (SAUs) and private schools should be submitting Homeless Student data to the state.

The target audience for this training includes both data coordinators and McKinney-Vento Liaisons.

We will have Maine DOE Migrant Education Specialist Amelia Lyons on hand to answer any specific Homeless Student data questions.

Please follow the “Join Live” link below at the time of the training to join us.

Join the 8/24/21 Training Live here

For questions, please contact Maine DOE Helpdesk at medms.helpdesk@maine.gov

Privacy Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) Virtual Meeting: Return to School – Addressing Privacy and Security Challenges in K-12 Education in the Wake of COVID-19

August 26, 1-5pm EDT

This fall, all schools and school administrative units (SAUs) are resuming full-time, in-person instruction. How can we use the lessons learned during the once-in-a-century pandemic to improve student privacy? This webinar brings together representatives from across the country to discuss the “must-dos” that come with federal student privacy laws, as well as the “should-dos,” challenges, and lessons learned from the recent rapid shift to remote learning.

This meeting is free and open to the public. Go to Meeting Registration | Return to School Virtual Meeting to register by August 24.

If you have questions you would like to see addressed, please contact PTAC at privacyTA@ed.gov.

Maine 2020 and 2021 Teachers of the Year Attend NASA Space Camp Experience

Gorham Middle School Alternative Education Teacher and 2020 Teacher of the Year Heather Whitaker and Gerald E. Talbot Community School 4th Grade Teacher and 2021 Teacher of the Year Cindy Soule, recently attended the NASA Space Academy as part of their recognition as a Maine Teacher of the Year.

Held at NASA’s Space Camp Headquarters in Huntsville, Alabama, the program includes authentic astronaut training simulators and activities developed to promote learning in a classroom setting. Curriculum includes NASA-inspired lesson plans and is correlated to the National Science Education Standards.

The 5-day professional learning opportunity is part of the National Teacher of the Year program, which is offered to State Teachers of the Year from across the country. Whitaker and Soule embarked on the opportunity separately last month with their Teacher of the Year colleagues from around the country from their respective years of recognition.

The individual experiences of both left them with many skills they will be bringing into their classrooms this fall.

For Soule, the program made her reflect on the power of building a community. One activity that stuck with her involved building a protective heat shield for an egg and keeping it from getting charred from fire. While there were others in her group who had more of an engineering background, she felt her voice, and everyone’s, was heard and valued equally, which allowed them to come together as a community in order to succeed.

The Academy provided a variety of experiences to the educators including a space flight simulation to Mars as well as a return flight from the Moon back to Earth and experience in a multi-axis trainer which simulates being in a rocket.

While the Space Academy certainly provided the educators with some practical skills for the classroom, the enrichment provided seeped into personal reflection as well. Whitaker says she was “naïve” before attending the Space Academy on the importance of space travel. During her time at camp, she found herself noticing all the various innovations to life on Earth that have come from space, making her that much more acutely aware of how small human beings are in comparison to the entirety of space. She came to this realization during a planetarium exhibition where she began to reflect on the day to day things that stress her out and made her consider how finite life on earth is- leaving her with one thought- “Why can’t we all get along?”

The experience certainly left each educator with some invaluable lessons but they also managed to have a lot of fun throughout. The first night of the Academy was the “Parade of States”- all of the Teachers of the Year from each state were asked to dress up in a costume that represented their state.

Heather dressed as a Maine Blueberry and Cindy dressed as an amalgamation of important parts of Maine including, a lobsterman, a blueberry shirt (gifted to her by Liberty Maine Graphics), and a Maine state flag hat.

Living in the Alabama dorms allowed for the participants to have plenty of time to socialize and network. Both stated they have made friends and colleagues for life.

Attending the Space Academy would not be possible if not for the support of Educate Maine, the Maine Department Of Education, and the generous donations from program sponsors. Both are extremely grateful for the opportunity and are so thankful for the lifelong lessons they will hold from the experience.

Website of LGBTQ+ and Gender Expansive Resources now Available to Schools

The Maine Department of Education (DOE) has launched a new section of its website devoted to improving school climate and support of LGBTQ+ students in Maine.

“Every student in Maine has an irrefutable right to feel safe, recognized and valued in their school,” said Commissioner of Education Pender Makin (she/her/hers). “The Maine Department of Education is deeply committed to providing schools and educators the resources they need to ensure that theirs is a safe and welcoming climate, and to validating the voices and experiences of our LGBTQ+ students and school community members.”

The coordination of the website and its resources is the result of a year-long effort and partnership between Maine DOE, OUT Maine, and GLAD (GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders) to provide meaningful resources and information to schools to give them the tools to support not only their LGBTQ+ students but their families and school staff as well. The resources are part of an initiative across the Maine DOE to provide resources and supports to ensure schools are safe and equitable for all students.

Our Stance: The Maine Department of Education supports all LGBTQ+ identifying, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, gender queer and questioning students, families, and school staff.

“We are thrilled with and grateful for DOE’s strong statement of support for LGBTQ+ youth in Maine schools,” said Jeanne Dooley, Executive Director of OUT Maine. “The thoughtful collection of resources and specific guidance for school districts will be extremely helpful to schools that have been seeking DOE leadership on laws and best practices.”

The website includes data about Maine’s LGBTQ+ youth, the Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey (MIYHS) data, and other vital tools for Maine schools to ensure equity for LGBTQ+ identifying students. There are also additional resources specifically for students and parents.

The website of resources can be accessed here: LGBTQ+ and Gender Expansive Resources. Additional resources for supporting schools in reducing in-school violence and building positive school culture are:

  • SEL4ME: a free to use, comprehensive, CASEL aligned and trauma informed, PreK-12th grade Social Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum, and;
  • Maine School Safety Center (MSSC): contacts and resources to help develop a safe school infrastructure delivering high quality, up-to-date best practices, procedures, training, technical assistance, and support to Maine Schools.

DOE Webinar on Submitting English Learner Data

The Maine Department of Education (DOE) Data Team will be holding a training session on September 9th at 10am to discuss how SAUs  and private schools should be submitting English Learner data to the State. The target audience for this training includes both data coordinators and ESOL educators.

We will have April Perkins, Maine DOE’s World Languages & ESOL/Bilingual Programs Specialist on hand to answer any specific EL student questions. Please follow the “Join Live” link at the time of the training to join us.

Join Live

If you have any questions, comments or concerns regarding this webinar please contact the MEDMS Helpdesk at MEDMS.Helpdesk@Maine.gov or (207) 624-6896.

Graduation Reporting Webinar

The Maine Department of Education Data Team is holding a Graduation Reporting webinar Tuesday August 24th at 1pm. We will be discussing the graduation certification report and related procedures for validating and clearing up any issues on the report. This certification is due by August 30th, so attendance is strongly encouraged for those charged with validating this report. Please follow the “Join Live” link at the time of the training to join us. Thank you.

Join Live

If you have any questions, comments or concerns regarding this webinar please contact the MEDMS Helpdesk at MEDMS.Helpdesk@Maine.gov or (207) 624-6896.

Updated Cultural and Religious Observances Calendar Available

As SAUs are scheduling important school events, it is important to know and understand the religious and cultural observances that may not be recognized as part of the school calendar. The timing, traditions, and possible impacts of various cultural and religious holidays and observances are important to consider when planning events such as open house, awards nights, testing windows, or other events. The Maine Department of Education has updated a calendar of Cultural and Religious Observances that occur during the school year.

We hope this resource will assist schools across Maine in helping their students navigate religious and cultural observances around expectations at school, including attendance and participation, which may conflict with some students’ traditions and observances that are outside the holidays that are typically observed by American schools throughout the school year.

The calendar has been updated for the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school years and can be viewed on our website: Cultural and Religious Observances by School Year.