The PAAP Task Bank is now open. All teachers assessing students using the MEA Alternate assessment for science in grades 5, 8, and third year high school may now log in.
Teachers must go to the registration page tab to create a new password. Please refer to the User Guide for assistance.
Please contact Sue Nay at sue.nay@maine.gov or telephone 624-6774 for assistance.
The Department has had a number of inquiries about the use of Anytime-Anywhere school days and learning (a.k.a. e-learning, storm kits, blizzard bags, snow packs). This communication is to clarify the current status of requirements regarding makeup days for cancellations due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances as it relates to Anytime-Anywhere or home-based instructional days. Please know that the Department is currently in conversations and exploring data and best practices around this topic, and anticipates further information and guidance to be forthcoming in the winter and spring of 2019.
Anytime-Anywhere Learning school days are not currently on the list of approved options for calendar revision due to snow day make-up in Maine pursuant to 20-A M.R.S. §4801 and Maine Department of Education Rule Chapter 125(6.02)(C). Thus, electronic school days or other types of home-based instructional time will not be approved toward the 175 required instructional day requirement, except as provided below.
The Department has responded to previous inquiries indicating that school administrative units could consider building such a plan into a future school year, as long as certain guidelines were followed. This email outlines those guidelines, and stipulates the extenuating circumstances under which an Anytime-Anywhere day may be helpful to districts.
A local school board must anticipate the probability of snow cancellations and build extra instructional days into its calendar. The Department recommends that units build at least 5 days into the school calendar for this contingency, as they may not use home-based, or Anytime-Anywhere learning, as an un-planned response to excessive weather-related cancellations, or as a means to revise an established calendar. Incorporating the idea during yearly district calendar planning allows the methodology to be researched and planned well in advance and perhaps piloted to see how well it works in the curricula continuum, as opposed to implementing something new without building it into the overall district plan.
After the 5 day snow day contingency is established in the calendar, if the local school board contemplates an Anytime-Anywhere learning option as part of the calendar planning process prior to the start of the school year, and none of the days supplant the required 175 days or the 5 extra planned makeup days, then the option may be implemented. If implemented, the board must include these storm pack days as part of any waiver request to the Commissioner in the spring. Thus, they would not be considered instructional days, but if implemented following the guidelines herewith in paragraph 6, a waiver for those days may be granted by the Commissioner.
School board calendar planning regarding Anytime-Anywhere days should take into account the following guidelines:
Please contact Pamela Ford-Taylor, Maine DOE School Enrollment Specialist at 207-624-6617 or Pamela.Ford-Taylor@maine.gov with questions.
As part of the National Day of Mourning that has been declared for Wednesday, December 5, 2018 in honor of President George H.W. Bush, who passed away Friday, November 30, Governor Paul R. LePage has directed that all executive branch State of Maine offices will be closed on Wednesday, December 5, 2018. Please be aware that public schools are not covered by this directive.
In a public statement released yesterday, Governor LePage stated, “I encourage our schools to use the National Day of Mourning as an important opportunity to learn about the life and legacy of President Bush, including such potential topics as the American Presidency, World War II and the Cold War. Schools should exercise their judgement as to age-appropriateness regarding watching the State Funeral.”
If schools opt to recognize the National Day of Mourning by closing school, they may use extra days built into their school calendar, the same as for a storm closure or other unexpected closures. A closure on the December 5, 2018 National Day of Mourning will not reduce the minimum requirement of 180 school days and 175 instructional days, pursuant to Title 20-A, Chapter 209.
Update: Schools will receive an invitation from the Department to participate in grant activities this spring.
The Maine Department of Education has been awarded a 5-year grant from the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, U.S. Department of Education. The funding will go towards an initiative called Maine Grant for School Emergency Management aimed at helping Maine schools by providing training and technical assistance in the development and implementation of high-quality school emergency operations plans (EOPS).
This project is grounded in the belief that multihazard emergency planning for schools helps schools and communities prepare for, respond to, and recover from critical incidents. The Maine Grant for School Emergency Management project is the next step of work that began with a Maine School Security Report that was initiated by the Maine Legislature.
The primary goals of the Maine Grant for School Emergency Management project are to:
The grant allocation is over five years:
Year 1: $614,773
Year 2: $567,920
Year 3: $567,920
Year 4: $567,920
Year 5: $567,920
Grant Total: $2,886,453
The grant activities, as awarded, are one hundred percent federally funded. No project costs will be financed by non-governmental sources.
The Department of Education takes school safety, security, emergency management, and preparedness seriously and is continually taking steps to improve it.
Further questions and inquiries can be send to Pat Hinckley, Maine DOE Transportation and Facilities Administrator at pat.hinckley@maine.gov.
The Maine Department of Education is seeking input to inform the work of leveraging technology to improve student learning. The survey should take no more than 5 minutes to complete. Maine DOE leadership will be reviewing the results as it plans for continued support of technology integration in Maine schools. The survey will remain open until December 21, 2018.
Learning Through Technology Survey
For additional information, please contact Lee Anne Larsen (leeann.larsen@maine.gov) or Beth Lambert (beth.lambert@maine.gov) on the Standards and Instructional Support Team.
As part of its 2018-19 Assessment Literacy series, the Maine Department of Education will present full-day workshops to continue supporting educators in examining eMPower ELA and math, and MEA science assessment data, connecting that data with locally generated assessment information, and identifying high impact instructional strategies that foster student engagement and achievement of learning standards.
State level assessment provides school systems with a useful lens through which educators can evaluate the effectiveness of curricula and instructional practices. This information can help educators improve programming to increase the number of students meeting expectations for learning standards in English language arts (ELA), mathematics, and science. The availability of released item data and sample state assessment items, coupled with local level assessment information, enables educators to dig more deeply into what instructional practices are benefiting student learning as well as where adjustments could be made to result in greater positive impact.
Join Maine DOE ELA, Math, and Science specialists as they provide professional learning and resources that:
Participants will select one of 3 content areas in which to focus their learning during the day: English language arts, mathematics or science. Schools are strongly encouraged to register teams of 3 so that they will have representation in each of the 3 featured content areas. An alternate option is for educators to come as a team representing one content area (e.g. science teachers from a middle school). Time will be provided during the day for teams to share their learning across content areas and to collaboratively plan for how to disseminate the day’s content back in their respective schools. Lunch will be provided during each full day session which will run 8:30 am – 3:30 pm. Contact hours will be provided.
Cost is $40 per individual or $100 per 3-person team. Registration requires a credit card.
| Workshop Locations/Registration Links | Workshop Dates |
| Keeley’s Banquet Center, Portland | January 15, 2019 Snow Date: February 1, 2019 |
| Jeff’s Catering, Brewer | January 24, 2019 Snow Date: January 31, 2019 |
| University of Maine at Presque Isle | January 29, 2019 Snow Date: January 30, 2019 |
For further information, please contact Lee Anne Larsen, Acting Deputy Director of the Office of Learning Systems at 207-624-6628 or leeann.larsen@maine.gov.
The Maine Department of Education (DOE) acquired enough copies of the Maine Education and School Statutes 2018-2019 Edition law book from the publisher, Swan Island Press, to distribute one, at no charge, to each superintendent of schools in Maine.
The law books are in the mail and should be received soon. To purchase additional copies of this law book directly from Swan Island Press, please contact Aaron Chase of Swan Island Press at info@swanislandpress.me.
Alcohol is the most frequently used substance by adolescents in Maine. Almost one of every four Maine high school students used alcohol in the past 30 days, and more than one third of those students reported binge drinking (2017 Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey). Alcohol consumption by students is impacted by factors such as low perception of harm, low perception of getting caught, and ease of access.
Schools and community organizations are encouraged to work together to address alcohol issues. In alignment with Maine statute, schools across Maine can raise awareness about alcohol use and abuse by observing Alcohol Awareness Day on Monday, December 3 (or another designated day in December). The statute indicates Alcohol Awareness Day shall be observed by studying for at least 45 minutes, a constructive approach toward the use of alcohol and the problems and dangers of alcohol abuse upon the individual, the family and society.
Consider using one or more of the following resources to prepare a message or lesson to enhance your existing health education curriculum:
It is important for Maine students to receive education and awareness about alcohol, tobacco and other drug use as part of comprehensive school health education, Pre-K through High School, and in alignment with the Maine Learning Results: Parameters for Essential Instruction, Health Education Standards. Selecting Evidence-Based Substance Use Prevention Programs: A Guide for Maine Schools Grades K-12 may help determine the most appropriate program for a school community.
There is also a guide to help schools create, update, and enforce a substance use policy. The guide, “Substance Use Policy: A Comprehensive Guide for School Policy Development” provides practical suggestions for a complete policy, based on research and best practices.
For assistance or additional resources, contact the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Tobacco and Substance Use Prevention and Control Program at 287-8901, TTY 711 or email: TSUP.DHHS@maine.gov. You can order a limited quantity of free alcohol use prevention pamphlets through the Prevention Store http://www.mainepreventionstore.org./
| Visit the DC&R Reporting Calendar |
Maine’s Model of School Support includes five indicators that focus on key areas of school and student success, adhere to the requirements of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), and directly align to Maine’s Priorities and Goals. | More
The Maine School Councilor Association (MESCA) is sponsoring a free professional development webinar called, Adverse Childhood Experiences, Education And The Workforce: Building Resilience In Students. | More
| Visit the Professional Development Calendar |
The Maine School Councilor Association (MESCA) is sponsoring a free professional development webinar called, Adverse Childhood Experiences, Education And The Workforce: Building Resilience In Students. Please find the details below.
Description: National statistics tell us that if a child has experienced 4 or more adverse life events, they are 32 times more likely to have behavior problems in school. There is increasing evidence that early life stressors, such as abuse and/or witnessing intimate partner violence, cause enduring brain dysfunction that, in turn, affects health and quality of life throughout the lifespan. The “stress response” can cause the areas of a student’s brain that control fear to become over developed, overpowering other areas of the brain that are required for positive academic learning. Adverse experiences have the power to undermine the development of language skills, attention to classroom tasks, and the ability to remember new information.
The good news is the presence of a supportive adult or environment provides a powerful buffer to students from the intense stress or anxiety that may occur when they are exposed to violence and trauma. This workshop will introduce participants to the impacts of exposure to adverse experiences, will offer examples of how and why this impact manifests itself as behaviors, and will share resilience building strategies.
Presenter: Allegra Hirsh-Wright, LCSW, RYT, Training Manager/Project Coordinator for Department of Clinical Innovation, Maine Behavioral Healthcare
Webinar Date & Time: December 20, 2018 at 12:00 PM
Register here: https://bit.ly/2PXK5nU
This free professional development webinar sponsored by the Maine School Councilor Association (MESCA) will be recorded and stored on the Reach Higher Maine Google Classroom.
Maine DOE Newsroom 