Virtual office hour schedule for Thursday, March 26, 2020

The Maine Department of Education continues to schedule virtual office hours with Department Specialist to support educators and administrators during extended remote learning. During these meetings, our specialists will be available to provide support and guidance regarding distance learning and school supports, as well as to facilitate networking and resource sharing between educators.

Thank you to the educators in Maine, nationally, and internationally who have joined these popular sessions. We are pleased to be able to offer a platform where educators can connect. We do ask that, with space limitations, priority be given to Maine educators first as these support sessions are intended for them.

Please note that Office Hour Schedules will be regularly updated on this web page: https://www.maine.gov/doe/covid-19/contentmeetings and the Department will continue scheduling content specific office hours as needed.

Virtual Office Hours:

(Please note: each of these meetings as a 100 person max capacity.)

THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2020

FOCUS AREA	SPECIALIST	TIME	LINK	CONTACT INFO
ELA 6-12 Office Hours	Morgan Dunton	7:00 AM	https://zoom.us/j/584635731	morgan.dunton@maine.gov
Brain Centered Emotional Support Session	Kellie Bailey	8:30	https://zoom.us/j/689251005	kellie.bailey@maine.gov
School Nursing	Emily Poland	8:30	https://networkmaine.zoom.us/j/615139238	emily.poland@maine.gov
Teaching Personal Finance/Economics Office Hour	Joe Schmidt	9:00	https://zoom.us/j/690625599	joe.schmidt@maine.gov
School Counseling	Bear Shea	10:00	https://zoom.us/j/598318140	w.bear.shea@maine.gov
Elementary Literacy	Dee Saucier	10:00	https://zoom.us/j/212984422	danielle.m.saucier@maine.gov
Using the Secretary of State’s Kids Page (Social Studies)	Joe Schmidt & Sec. of State’s Office	10:00	https://zoom.us/j/958846138	joe.schmidt@maine.gov
Math K-5 Office Hour	Jen & Michele	10:00	https://zoom.us/j/271802645	jennifer.r.robitaille@maine.gov
Public Pre-K	Nicole Madore	10:00	https://zoom.us/j/231772841	nicole.madore@maine.gov
Physical Education	Jean Zimmerman	10:00	https://zoom.us/j/484290590	jean.zimmerman@maine.gov
Special Services Grades K-12	Colette Sullivan and Leora Byras	10:00	https://networkmaine.zoom.us/j/955322129	roberta.lucas@maine.gov
Health Education	Susan Berry	11:00	https://zoom.us/j/484290590	susan.berry@maine.gov
Alternative Education	Heather Whitaker (2020 Teacher of the Year)	11:00	https://zoom.us/j/775339375
PBIS and Behavior Supports	Courtney Angelosante (University of Maine)	11:00	https://networkmaine.zoom.us/j/558627668	tracy.w.whitlock@maine.gov
Office Hours: 6-12 Math	Michele & Jen	12:00	https://zoom.us/j/562777233	michele.mailhot@maine.gov
VISUAL ART, Grades 9-12 Office Hour	Jason Anderson	12:00	https://zoom.us/j/361857839	jason.anderson@maine.gov
Online Learning Support– Adult Education and PK-12	Emma-Marie Banks	12:30	https://zoom.us/j/2494724142	emma-marie.banks@maine.gov
Exploring Primary Sources with the Maine State Archives	Joe Schmidt w/ Maine State Archives	1:00	https://zoom.us/j/859194691	joe.schmidt@maine.gov
MUSIC, Grades 9-12 Office Hour	Jason Anderson	1:00	https://zoom.us/j/179117127	jason.anderson@maine.gov
World Language – Indigenous Languages, Russian, Japanese, & Arabic	Lavinia Rogers	1:00	https://zoom.us/j/985361609	lavinia.m.rogers@maine.gov
Adult Education- Serving ELL Students Office Hours/Support	April Perkins and Megan Dichter	1:30	Join URL: https://zoom.us/j/458803116	megan,dichter@maine.gov
Adapted Physical Education	Jean Zimmerman	1:00	https://zoom.us/j/409193455	jean.zimmerman@maine.gov
Career and Education Development  Networking	Diana Doiron	2:00	: https://networkmaine.zoom.us/j/461821969	diana.doiron@maine.gov
Meaningful but Manageable (HS Music Educators)	Jason Anderson (Led by Rob Westerberg, York HS)	2:00	https://zoom.us/j/932984876	jason.anderson@maine.gov
6-12 Earth/Environmental Science networking	Shari Templeton	2:00	https://zoom.us/j/638906844	shari.templeton@maine.gov
6-12 Life Science networking	Shari Templeton	2:30	https://zoom.us/j/638906844	shari.templeton@maine.gov
ELA 6-12 Office Hours	Morgan Dunton	3:00	https://zoom.us/j/307506699	morgan.dunton@maine.gov
6-12 Physical Science networking	Shari Templeton	3:00	https://zoom.us/j/638906844	shari.templeton@maine.gov
THEATRE, Grades K-12 Office Hour	Jason Anderson	3:00	https://zoom.us/j/165295678	jason.anderson@maine.gov
MTSS T 2 and T3 Open Forum	Andrea Logan	3:00	https://zoom.us/j/4525406402	andrea.logan@maine.gov
World Language (K-12)	Lavinia Rogers	3:30	https://zoom.us/j/466701693	lavinia.m.rogers@maine.gov
Social Studies PK-12	Joe Schmidt	4:00	https://zoom.us/j/776265504	joe.schmidt@maine.gov
DANCE, Grades K-12 Office Hour	Jason Anderson	4:00	https://zoom.us/j/932984876	jason.anderson@maine.gov

Thank you, educators, school and district leaders, for all the work you’re doing keeping students and families educationally engaged during this challenging time.

The Maine Department of Education  is excited to announce that the request submitted to the U.S. Department of Education to waive assessments, accountability and school identifications (SY 20-21) has been granted with formal written approval to be received in the coming weeks.

As a result of this waiver, the Department will not implement:

• Assessment requirements in section 1111(b)(2): the requirements to administer all required assessments in school year 2019-2020.

Maine will not administer the following assessments during the spring 2020 assessment window:

• eMPowerME (Math & English Language Arts/Literacy – grades 3 -8)
• SAT (Math & English Language Arts/Literacy – 3^rd year of high school)
• Multi-State Alternate Assessment (MSAA -Math & English Language Arts/Literacy – grades 3 -8)
• Science (grades 5, 8 and 3^rd year of high school)
• Science Alternate Assessment (SAA – grades 5, 8 and 3^rd year of high school)

Accountability and school identification requirements in sections 1111(c)(4) and 1111(d)(2)(C)-(D): the requirements that a State annually meaningfully differentiate all public schools and the requirements to identify schools for comprehensive and targeted support and improvement and additional targeted support and improvement based on data from the 2019-2020 school year.

Maine will not identify additional schools eligible to receive supports in the 2020-2021 school year.

Report card provisions (ESSA Data Dashboard) related to certain assessments and accountability in section 1111(h) based on data from the 2019-2020 school year.

Maine will not publicly report the following items within the ESSA Dashboard: 

• Section 1111(h)(1)(C)(i) (accountability system description).
• Section 1111(h)(1)(C)(ii) (assessment results).
• Section 1111(h)(1)(C)(iii)(I) (other academic indicator results – in Maine this is academic growth).
• Section 1111(h)(1)(C)(iv) (English language proficiency assessment results).
• Section 1111(h)(1)(C)(v) (school quality or student success indicator results – in Maine this is chronic absenteeism).
• Section 1111(h)(1)(C)(vi) (progress toward meeting long-terms goals and measurements of interim progress).
• Section 1111(h)(1)(C)(vii) (percentage of students assessed and not assessed – participation rate).
• Section 1111(h)(1)(C)(xi) (number and percentage of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities taking an alternate assessment).
• Section 1111(h)(2)(C) with respect to all waived requirements in section 1111(h)(1)(C) as well as 1111(h)(2)(C)(i)-(ii) (information showing how students in a local educational agency (LEA) and each school, respectively, achieved on the academic assessments compared to students in the State and LEA).

Public comment is still required regarding Maine’s application to waive the above requirements. Information related to public comment can be located in the DOE Newsroom. Public comment is open through April 10, 2020.  Comments can be submitted to ESSA.DOE@maine.gov.

Further questions can be directed to Janette Kirk, Chief of Learning Systems at Janette.Kirk@maine.gov

As we are all aware, these are unprecedented times with unique challenges, however the Maine Department of Education is asking schools to submit and have their superintendents certify their April Enrollment Count Report. While many Maine state reporting requirements have been suspended, there is need for these data for purposes of calculating public school tuition rates.

Please note that for the April 1 count, “enrollment and attending” are referring to the school that is responsible for educating the student for April 1, 2020.  We are not asking schools to take attendance on April 1, just to certify the students for which they are responsible on this date.

The April Enrollment Count Report will be available for districts to submit and certify, beginning on April 1^st with a certify by date of May 30^th.

The April Enrollment Count Reports will be used for calculating tuition rates in accordance with Title 20-A, §5805, subsection 1.B. This count will not be used for the Essential Services and Programs (EPS) School funding formula, but is still necessary for calculating the tuition rates. Please note that students who are enrolled at outside placements at regional programs or special purpose private schools, are not included enrollment counts in the primary enrollment district.

Instruction on how to complete this report are available here:

https://www.maine.gov/doe/data-reporting/collection/helpdesk/resources/data-reporting-instructions

If you have any questions, feel free to contact:

MEDMS Helpdesk – 207-624-6896

As part of protocol, we are posting an opportunity for public comment regarding the Maine Department of Education (DOE) seeking a one-year waiver pursuant to §8401(b) from requirements within the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015) from the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE). The U.S. Department of Education requires state educational agencies, when seeking waivers from statutory or regulatory requirements, solicit and respond to public comment on the request and provide evidence of the available comment period. This 15-day public comment period from March 25 – April 10, 2020, waives requirements related to chronic absenteeism, accountability identifications and accountability components within Maine’s Model of School Support.

Maine’s Model of School Support contained within Maine’s ESSA state plan, focuses on supporting and assisting schools and educators experiencing challenges. The Maine DOE is working diligently to continue supporting Maine’s schools during this pandemic of COVID-19. Maine’s Model of School Support is immediately impacted by the Department’s waiver request.

Requirements from which Maine is seeking a waiver include:

• Assessment requirements in section 1111(b)(2): the requirements to administer all required assessments in school year 2019-2020.
• Accountability and school identification requirements in sections 1111(c)(4) and 1111(d)(2)(C)-(D): the requirements that a State annually meaningfully differentiate all public schools and the requirements to identify schools for comprehensive and targeted support and improvement and additional targeted support and improvement based on data from the 2019-2020 school year.
• Report card provisions (ESSA Dashboard) related to certain assessments and accountability in section 1111(h) based on data from the 2019-2020 school year, namely:
  • Section 1111(h)(1)(C)(i) (accountability system description).
  • Section 1111(h)(1)(C)(ii) (assessment results).
  • Section 1111(h)(1)(C)(iii)(I) (other academic indicator results).
  • Section 1111(h)(1)(C)(iv) (English language proficiency assessment results).
  • Section 1111(h)(1)(C)(v) (school quality or student success indicator results).
  • Section 1111(h)(1)(C)(vi) (progress toward meeting long-terms goals and measurements of interim progress).
  • Section 1111(h)(1)(C)(vii) (percentage of students assessed and not assessed).
  • Section 1111(h)(1)(C)(xi) (number and percentage of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities taking an alternate assessment).
  • Section 1111(h)(2)(C) with respect to all waived requirements in section 1111(h)(1)(C) as well as 1111(h)(2)(C)(i)-(ii)(information showing how students in a local educational agency (LEA) and each school, respectively, achieved on the academic assessments compared to students in the State and LEA).

Federal program affected by the requested waiver

Maine’s Model of School Supports identifications will be impacted due to the following reasons:

• Exclusion of the chronic absenteeism indicator

Governor Janet Mills declared a state of Civil Emergency on Sunday March 15, 2020. As a result, schools were recommended to cease traditional classroom-based instruction as soon as practical and for the duration of our state of Civil Emergency, currently 30 days to be re-established as many times as the situation warrants. Maine schools are not providing traditional classroom-based instruction within brick and mortar buildings. As of March 25, Maine schools remain “closed” through April 27^th.

• Excluding the 95% participation rate within the academic achievement indicator

The grade 3-8 and 3^rd year of high school math and ELA/Literacy assessments, are currently closed and therefore students are unable to participate.

• Exclusion of additional school identifications and subsequent supports to schools

As a result of excluding the chronic absenteeism indicator and not utilizing the 95% participation rate for academic achievement, Maine’s Model of School Support will not have a complete data set and will be unable to identify additional schools eligible to receive supports.

Comments may be submitted to: ESSA.DOE@maine.gov

Given the current circumstances, the Mitchell Institute is extending the Mitchell Scholarship application deadlines by one month. Learn More Here:  http://mitchellinstitute.org/scholarship/

Extended MAY 1 deadline (previously April 1):

• Online Mitchell Scholarship application
•  High school transcript with mid-year grades
• Recommendation letter
•  Student Aid Report

Extended JUNE 1 deadline (previously May 1):

•  College acceptance letter for applicant’s top choice school
• Financial aid offer for applicant’s top choice school

We hope these extensions will alleviate some of the pressure that students may be feeling. We truly appreciate the effort that has already been put into submitting applications and required documents. Though we had hoped to start evaluating applications next week, we understand that it may be difficult for some applicants and their schools to meet the April 1 deadline due to recent announcements that many schools have now extended remote learning until the end of April. We are also aware that a growing number of colleges have extended their enrollment deposit deadlines to June 1. We also hope this additional time will provide the opportunity for continued outreach to students who have not yet applied.