Veazie Community School Awarded $30,000 Grant from Walmart Corporation

Veazie Community School, a public PreK-8 school that currently serves 146 students has received an incredible gift from a major retailer. Music teacher Mike Arell received an e-mail in February from Rachel Stelline, Manager of the Bangor Walmart Supercenter. It stated that the Veazie Community School music program would be receiving a $30,000 grant from Walmart Corporation. When he saw the amount, Arell thought that the message was too good to be true. To his great surprise, the information, including the amount, was all accurate.

At the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year, Superintendent Matthew Cyr and Arell had discussed ways to expand Veazie’s music program. This meant a particular focus on having enough high quality instruments and equipment so that interested students could participate fully in music ensembles, whether they owned an instrument or not . Cyr and Arell began to reach out to community members, businesses, and media outlets. Their hope was that local amateur musicians would remember how important music has been in their lives and pay it forward by giving the gift of an instrument to a student in need.

The school’s message moved beyond the greater Bangor area and then went national. By the beginning of December, Veazie Community School had received 35 donated  instruments and other musical equipment. Caring people from Maine, as well as Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Washington DC, Illinois, Michigan, Utah, and Colorado, sent donations to the school. Many others that did not have instruments, but wanted to contribute, mailed in monetary donations that totaled about $2,000. Students and staff were overwhelmed to learn that people hundreds or thousands of miles away that had never even heard of Veazie Community School were willing to give because they cared about children and knew the importance of learning music.

Concurrently, Arell had applied for various music program grants. In October, after an
application process and interview, Veazie Community School was awarded $1,000 as a
community grant from Bangor Walmart Supercenter. This was a larger grant than Arell had anticipated and the students were very excited and thankful.

What Arell did not know was that after the local Walmart grant had been awarded, Walmart Corporation noticed the media coverage that Veazie’s instrument drive was receiving, and authorized an additional grant of $30,000. This substantial grant is the first time that Bangor Walmart Supercenter has presented such a major award. Veazie Community School is the only school in the state to receive this large an amount from any Walmart store this year.

2019-2020 has been an exciting year for Veazie Community School. In December, the school was recognized as a Blue Ribbon Lighthouse School. For the music program in particular, interest in ensembles has grown. About 70% of all 3rd-8th grade students choose to participate in Band class and about 50% of all 6th-8th grade students participate in Chorus class. The students’ enthusiasm for creating music and for learning is contagious.

The large grant from Walmart will allow the Veazie music program to continue to bring high quality musical experiences to all students and to help foster lifelong appreciation for music learning. This significant award will contribute to the goal of Veazie’s students, staff, and administration—to create a school culture of musical achievement. Veazie Community School is a small school with a big heart and the school’s heartbeat comes from its passionate music students that now have even more opportunities.

This article was submitted by Matthew Cyr, Superintendent of Schools & Principal at Veazie Community School as part of the Maine Schools Sharing Success Campaign. To submit a story or an idea email it to Rachel Paling at rachel.paling@maine.gov.

County Teachers of the Year Meet with Legislative Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs

The 2019 County Teachers of the Year and the 2020 State Teacher of the Year met with the Legislative Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs last week. An annual event of the Maine State Teacher of the Year Program, the educators spent over an hour discussing relevant topics from their region with Maine legislators.

Pictured above: Senator Rebecca Millett, Representative David McCrea, Representative Jan Dodge, Androscoggin County Teacher of the Year Shawn Rice, Representative Victoria Kornfield, Piscataquis County Teacher of the Year Bobbi Tardiff, Aroostook County Teacher of the Year Kim Barnes (back), Washington County Teacher of the Year Jeanna Carver (front), 2020 Teacher of the Year Heather Whitaker, Franklin County Teacher of the Year Rob Taylor (back), Penobscot County Teacher of the Year Tracy Deschaine (front), Kennebec County Teacher of the Year Emily Bowen, Somerset County Teacher of the Year Kathy Bertini, York County Teacher of the Year Ethel Atkinson, Representative Henry Ingwersen, and Representative Dick Farnsworth.

Prior to meeting with Committee members, the teachers had the opportunity to meet briefly with Commissioner Makin, Deputy Commissioner Dan Chuhta, and other representatives from the Maine DOE for an informal conversation about issues and successes in each of their regions.

Piscataquis County Teacher of the Year Bobbi Tardiff, Maine DOE Teacher Effectiveness Coordinator Emily Doughty, Penobscot County Teacher of the Year Tracy Deschaine, Somerset County Teacher of the Year Kathy Bertini, Kennebec County Teacher of the Year Emily Bowen, Androscoggin County Teacher of the Year Shawn Rice, DOE Commissioner Pender Makin, 2020 Maine Teacher of the Year Heather Whitaker, Washington County Teacher of the Year Jeanna Carver, Aroostook County Teacher of the Year Kim Barnes, York County Teacher of the Year Ethel Atkinson, Franklin County Teacher of the Year Rob Taylor, Maine DOE Chief of Staff and Operations Jessica Nixon, Maine DOE Deputy Commissioner Dan Chuhta

Legislators began the meeting by expressing their gratitude to the teachers for the work they do and for making time to share their thoughts at the session. Representative Kornfeild told the teachers, “we have been anticipating this meeting all day!”

The first topic the committee members asked about is the teacher shortage that has impacted many areas of Maine, a topic that has also been widely discussed at the state level. The panel was ready and willing to share their take and provide advice on ways to recruit more educators, which included alternative certification pathways and early college options for students.

Topics discussed by the educators ranged from National Board Certification for educators to STEM opportunities, technology integration in the classroom, and earlier pathways to Career and Technical Education for students. By far the most talked about topic in the meeting was the need for more mental health supports for students at school.

The meeting ended with a group picture and much gratitude from both sides of the horseshoe for the opportunity to meet and talk about important education issues.

Some of the teachers shared their thoughts about the experience:

“Meeting with the Education & Cultural Affairs Committee allowed me the chance to share my hopes for attracting talented graduates into the profession of Maine educators. This powerful experience allowed me to be ‘heard’ and advocate for what’s best for our Maine students and those in the teaching profession.” – Kathy Bertini, Somerset County Teacher of the Year and Science Teacher at Madison Junior High School. 

“One of the best parts of the journey as a County Teacher of the Year are the opportunities to speak up and advocate for our profession, for our colleagues, and for our students.  Meeting with the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee provided an opportunity to use our teacher voices, to learn more about the influential leaders in our state, and personally thank them for advocating change in our educational system and the support they offer teachers in inspiring Maine’s future generations.” – Tracy Deschaine, Penobscot County Teacher of the Year and Orono Middle School Math and Science Teacher.

“The experience was inspiring and affirmed for me the power and importance of
educational advocacy at the state level. It also illustrated the fact that many of what we might see as our specific local needs echo concerns shared in communities across the state. While our experience represents an annual invitation for CTOYs to share our stories, the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee made an impassioned plea to encourage all educators to extend our advocacy beyond our own districts in order to advocate for all Maine students; Maine teachers have authentic voices that can positively
impact educational policy and benefit our students.” – Shawn Rice, 2019 Androscoggin County Teacher of the Year and Dept Head, Fine Arts at Edward Little High School

“A critical and empowering component of the Maine Teacher of the Year and Maine County Teacher of the Year program is mentoring and providing teacher leaders in the state of Maine with opportunities to advocate on behalf of public education. Over the past two weeks, the 2019 County Teacher of the Year cohort had the incredible opportunity to speak with both Senator King’s Senior Education Staff and the Maine Legislature’s Education and Cultural Affairs Committee. The collective experience and wisdom in this group is inspiring!” – Heather Whitaker, 2020 Maine Teacher of the Year, 2019 Cumberland County Teacher of the Year, and Gorham Middle School Alternative Education Teacher.

Westbrook High School Hosts Bicentennial Commemoration of Women’s Suffrage

Young women from Westbrook High School (WHS) gathered in the WHS Library on March 10th to hear a very important message from the Westbrook Women’s Club, the Westbrook City Clerk’s Office, and from female educators and role models working in their school: exercise your right to vote.

WHS Art Teacher Debra Bickford, WHS Librarian Beth Andersen, and WSH Assistant Principal Wendy Harvey hosted interested students in the library for a presentation about Women’s Suffrage as an homage to Maine’s Bicentennial celebration. The event is one of many Bicentennial related activities that Westbrook School Department has brought to students throughout the week.

Westbrook Women’s Club getting their picture taken by WHS Newspaper.

Dressed in the attire that women would have worn as they marched for Women’s Suffrage in the early 1900s, ladies from the Westbrook Women’s Club shared the history of women’s struggle and eventual success at gaining the right to vote in the United States. All of the adults in the room took the opportunity to stress the importance of this movement by sharing the ongoing struggles and triumphs experienced by women in Maine, all over the country, and around the world through the years and continuing to this day as women continue to work toward equality.

Westbrook Women’s Club
Debra Bickford, WHS Art Teacher
Angela Holmes from the Westbrook City Clerk’s office

While ladies from the Westbrook Women’s Club talked about having to prove they were literate in order to vote right here in Maine several decades ago, other women shared examples of gaining equal access to athletics as female students, and also referenced the on-going struggle for equal pay. All shared as examples of why it is so important for young women to exercise their right to vote.

“Having a voice in this country is something that we can’t take for granted,” said WHS Librarian Beth Andersen.

As part of the event, WHS Art Teacher Debra Bickford helped coordinate WHS Honor Society students as they put an artistic spin on artwork from the era.

IMG_4164

Representatives from Westbrook City Clerk’s Office were also at the event and shared information about how to register to vote, including when young adults can register or pre-register to vote, and to not be afraid to ask questions about the process when the time comes to go down to the voting booth.

“Don’t think that your vote doesn’t matter,” said WHS Assistant Principal Wendy Harvey. “If not for your self than for generations of women to come,” she added.

In addition to the Women’s Suffrage event at Westbrook High School, the students have also been engaged in Maine themed games of Jeopardy, a Maine themed bracket where students vote on food items and other Maine related items to pick an icon that best represents the state, they plan to host Maine Comedian Tim Sample this week, and even the Middle School has adopted a Maine theme to their annual Spirit Week.

New Webinar: The EF-S-05 Part II Special Education Staff Certification Report

To assist those who are responsible for the important task of reporting Special Education Staff data to the Maine Department of Education, the DOE Data Team will be holding a webinar on Thursday March 12th, from 10am to 11am.

The EF-S-05 Part II Special Education Staff Certification report must be verified and certified by the Special Education Director in the Maine DOE’s NEO System. The EF-S-05 Part II Special Education Staff Certification report is used to verify the full-time equivalency (FTE) and qualification status of special education teachers, paraprofessionals (educational technicians), and related services personnel who were employed or contracted to provide special education services to students with disabilities ages 3 through 20 as of December 1, 2019.

This webinar will be an open session for the DOE and the districts to discuss the EF-S-05 Part II Special Education Staff Certification report. We will review frequently asked questions and common data issues found during previous reporting periods.  This is also an opportunity for districts to ask any questions, provide comments, and voice concerns regarding the Special Education Staff Certification process.

The Special Education Staff Certification Report (EF-S-05 Part II) Opens on March 1st, 2020; Deadline is April 15th, 2020.

Access instructions for completing the EF-S-05 Part II report.

To register for the webinar, please click the following registration link and fill out the appropriate fields.

If you have trouble logging into NEO or have other technical issues, contact the help desk at 207-624-6896 or MEDMS.Helpdesk@maine.gov .

For questions about the EF-S-05 Part II report, contact Brandi Giguere at 207-624-6648 or brandi.a.giguere@maine.gov. For assistance or more information, contact us at:  medms.helpdesk@maine.gov or (207)624-6896.

MaineCare Seed Adjustments to be Made, Review Q2 20 Reports by April 10, 2020

The recovery of Q2 20 MaineCare Seed will occur in the April 2020 subsidy payment and the Maine DOE is asking School Administrative Units (SAUs) to review their reports by April 10, 2020 to ensure accurate adjustments to subsidy. SAU staff must review student by student claims on both the public and private MaineCare reports for Q220 by April 10, 2020.

To access the MaineCare Seed reports, please follow the instructions below.

  1. Log into NEO using the link below

https://neo.maine.gov/DOE/neo/Dashboard

Anyone who currently has Special Education Director permissions to the Special Education module will automatically have permissions to access MaineCare reports.

As in the past, if a new staff member needs permission to access this module, a request from the Superintendent to the Maine DOE helpdesk will be necessary. The helpdesk contact information is medms.helpdesk@maine.gov or 207-624-6896.

  1. Click on the Student Data tab
  2. Click on the Student Report tab
  3. Select MaineCare in the Reporting Area drop-down
  4. Choose the quarterly Seed report and the report type (private/public)
  5. Click view report button
  6. Once the report appears on the screen, choose the export button.

You may export the reports to Excel, but please be aware that there may be multiple worksheet tabs within the workbook. Save the file to your computer.

If you disagree that a particular student or time period should be on the report, please provide the reason that you disagree along with the following to Denise.towers@maine.gov.

  • Identify the type of report (public or private) and the quarter in which the claims are located.
  • State Student ID
  • Service provided dates (From and To)
  • Total amount of Seed being disputed

Summer services: Students must be enrolled for the time period they are receiving educational services. This means that students that are receiving extended school year services in district or extended school year services in an out of district placement must have a primary enrollment for that time period in order for the MDOE to have the most accurate enrollment data to determine SAU responsibility for MaineCare Seed.

For more information or technical assistance related to MaineCare Seed, please contact Denise.towers@maine.gov.

 Comments Sought on Maine’s IDEA Part B Application  

The Maine Department of Education is seeking comments from the public on its annual application for federal funds under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which covers services to children with disabilities, ages 3-20.

The application, which covers Maine fiscal year 2021 (starting July 1, 2020) is posted on the Maine DOE’s webpage at https://www.maine.gov/doe/learning/specialed/director. The Part B budget is projected on the basis of Maine’s award for the current State fiscal year (2020), pending the State’s receipt of the finalized federal award for the coming year. Both documents will be posted from March 6, 2020 through May 10, 2020.

Written comments will be accepted from March 6, 2020 until 4 p.m. on Monday, April 6, 2020. Please send comments to Erin Frazier at erin.frazier@maine.gov or 23 State House Station, Augusta, ME. 04333.

TechHire Maine Grant Underway! Training to Join Maine’s Information Technology Workforce!

In July 2016, Coastal Counties Workforce, Inc. (CCWI) was awarded $4,000,000 through the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration to highlight Maine’s Information Technology (IT) industry and create a pipeline of skilled workers. TechHire Maine a five-year grant, recruits, assesses, trains and places individuals in occupations in Maine’s IT industry.

The State Office of Adult Education, through five local Adult Education providers covering five counties, will assist in the development of, recruitment for, and delivery of face to face CompTIA A+ Academies to serve the specific needs of TechHire eligible, out of school youth between the ages of 17-29 with an interest and aptitude for work in the IT sector. These CompTIA A+ Academies will provide foundational digital skills for those who need them and will include the IC3 Digital Literacy and CompTIA A+ training and certification exams, as well as contextualized work readiness for the IT pathway.

Successful graduates will receive two industry recognized credentials; IC3 and CompTIA A+.  CompTIA A+ is the industry standard for establishing a career in IT and the preferred qualifying credential for technical support and IT operational roles. This free training is an excellent opportunity for Maine residents between 17-29, including the approximately 30% of graduating seniors with no post-secondary plan.  For more information about trainings beginning soon, email techhire207@gmail.com or visit the TechHire Maine Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/techhiremaine/

This $4 million workforce development project is fully funded by a U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration grant awarded to and managed by Coastal Counties Workforce, Inc., the Local Workforce Development Board for Maine’s six coastal counties. This is an equal opportunity employer / program. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities.

Maine DOE Update – March 6, 2020

 

From the Maine Department of Education

Reporting Items

| Visit the DC&R Reporting Calendar |

News & Updates

Oakhurst Donates $300,000 for Maine Students!

Today at Westbrook Middle School, Oakhurst Dairy President John Bennett announced that the company will be donating $300,000 over the next three years to feed Maine’s students. The donation will be in partnership with Full Plates, Full Potential to fund the Oakhurst After School meal grant program.   An initial $30,000 in grants will go to two school districts and seven nonprofits to get their programming underway. | More

RECOGNIZING GREAT EDUCATORS: Department of Education Talent Pool!

The Maine Department of Education believes that by promoting the excellence that exists in classrooms and schools across Maine, we will increase the trust and respect given to educators, and encourage and support others in an outstanding career working with Maine’s students.| More

Get to know the Maine DOE Team: Meet Tammy Ranger

Maine DOE team member Tamara (Tammy) Ranger is being highlighted this week as part of the Get to know the Maine DOE Team Campaign. | More

Maine Schools Sharing Success Stories

| Submit your Maine School Success Story |
Professional Development & Training Opportunities

Maine DOE Seeks Applicants for Paid Professional Learning Opportunity

The Maine Department of Education is seeking applications from qualified individuals interested in learning more about the competitive grant process.  Selected applicants will be trained to serve as peer reviewers who assist the Department in to reviewing, assessing, and scoring competitive grant proposals for the 21st Century Community Leaning Centers (21st CCLC) Program.  The 21st CCLC program is a federally-funded education program that provides competitive funding for schools and communities to develop before-school, after-school, and summer educational programs that support students and their families. More

2020 Beyond the Basics Conference focused on Inclusive Suicide Prevention Strategies – April 10  

The theme of this year’s conference is Building Hope Across Populations. It will feature national experts on inclusive suicide prevention strategies and breakout sessions that will explore how to serve Maine’s at-risk, diverse, and growing populations. The audience is professionals, educators, clinicians, first responders, and community members from across the state looking to enrich their skills with best practice information, guidance, and resources around suicide response and prevention. | More

Comprehensive Sexuality Education Conference – Cultivating a Culture of Consent April 3

Department of Education is providing this information to educators, students and parents as a resource. This is not a Maine DOE sponsored event.  This exciting two-day conference in the cozy seaside town of Rockport, Maine focuses on the intersection of education and innovation. Here, you can mix it up… and, yes, collide…with leading educators, students, entrepreneurs, and industry thought leaders. | More

| Visit the Professional Development Calendar |

Latest DOE Career/Project Opportunities

View current Maine Department of Education employment opportunities here
 

2020 Beyond the Basics Conference focused on Inclusive Suicide Prevention Strategies – April 10  

The theme of this year’s conference is Building Hope Across Populations. It will feature national experts on inclusive suicide prevention strategies and breakout sessions that will explore how to serve Maine’s at-risk, diverse, and growing populations. The audience is professionals, educators, clinicians, first responders, and community members from across the state looking to enrich their skills with best practice information, guidance, and resources around suicide response and prevention. Click here for more information and to register.