Maine DOE Update – August 23, 2018

From the Maine Department of Education

Reporting Items

Graduation Reporting Due by September 15, 2018

The Graduation Module has opened in NEO so that School Administrative Unit staff can start entering graduation data. This module is used to calculate the graduation rates for the 2017/18 school year. It will also be used, in part, to determine supports for Maine public high schools as part of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). To further assist districts as they manage required reporting, the Department will soon be releasing a comprehensive beginning of the school year checklist for completing required reports. | More

Reminder of 2019 Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey (MIYHS)

This notice is a reminder that the sixth cycle for the Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey (MIYHS) will be administered in February, 2019. | More

| Visit the DC&R Reporting Calendar |

News & Updates

Certification Updates

Please help share the following notice with all Maine educators. The Maine Department of Education has now received 10,000 renewal applications since releasing the new online certification system, Maine Educator Information System (MEIS), to educators in June. There are currently 3,000 of those applications in queue, with an approximate eight-week processing time. Approximately 70% of all Maine educators needing renewal have now applied. For those that have applied for renewal, it is important to note the following renewal procedure as outlined in Chapter 115 Part 1: | More

School Bus Refurbishment Update

Maine Military Authority (MMA) has completed its work for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority contract. As part of the process of winding down operations, MMA will no longer be able to contract for school bus refurbishment and has reached out to school districts to inform them of the changes in their operations. | More

New Video Available to Assist with English Learner Identification

A new video is now available to help train staff who assist families in enrolling in school. As part of the English learner identification process, the parent/guardian of every student enrolling in an SAU for the first time completes a Language Use Survey.| More

Child Sexual Abuse Implementation Support Materials Now Available

As part of a collaborative effort of the Maine Department of Education and the Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault (MECASA), resources have been developed to support school systems in the implementation of the child sexual abuse prevention and response law, L.D. 1180 – An Act To Require Education in Public Preschool Programs and Elementary. | More

More Dispatches | Press Releases | Priority Notices

Professional Development & Training Opportunities

Professional Standards for School Nutrition Professionals and Training Opportunities

As a reminder, the Federal School Food Service Professional Standards took effect July 1, 2015 and impacts the hiring process for new School Food Service Directors or staff members that are responsible for food service director duties and were hired after July 1, 2015. | More

Registration for Student Learning Objectives Training Now Open

The Maine Department of Education is once again proud to offer Student Learning Objective (SLO) training to school administrative units (SAUs) to help support the development and refinement of Performance Evaluation and Professional Growth (PEPG) systems. | More

| Visit the Professional Development Calendar |

Latest DOE Career/Project Opportunities

Registration for Student Learning Objectives Training Now Open

For the 2018-2019 school year, Maine DOE has continued its partnership with the Northeast Comprehensive Center to offer training and support to effectively implement these important measures of student learning and growth. This training will take place at the Burton M. Cross Building in Rooms 103A and 103B on September 10, 2018 from 10:00AM to 3:00PM.

SAU teams and other key staff who lead and support SLO work as a part of PEPG systems can expect to receive:

Research-based approaches to SLO implementation
Turn-key activities to facilitate with your SAU
Electronic resources to support districts in their SLO implementation

Topics to be addressed at the event include:

Determining SLO Quality
Navigating an SLO Process
Deciding on Learning Content
Setting Growth Targets
Developing Quality Assessments

Register for the Student Learning Objectives Training

Please note, additional trainings for the 2018-2019 school year are currently under development. As these trainings are added, information will be distributed to districts.

For more information, please contact Emily Gribben, Educator Effectiveness Coordinator at emily.gribben@maine.gov.

Professional Standards for School Nutrition Professionals and Training Opportunities

School districts are asked to notify Maine Department of Education’s Child Nutrition staff of any School Food Service Directors leaving. Directors in place on or before June 30, 2015 are grandfathered in their position. Districts only need to meet the updated requirements for hiring a new director.

The professional standards require a combination of education and experience, and necessitate school food service employees stay current by requiring education credits be met each year. The amount of education credits varies with position and hours worked. View the Professional Standards for School Food Service.

Training offered by Maine DOE Child Nutrition team includes the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) training and Summer Food Service Program trainings, monthly webinars, regional meetings and workshops.

Take advantage of these trainings to acquire your continuing education hours. All trainings offered by Maine DOE Child Nutrition team will be posted on the Child Nutrition Resources web page and on the Maine DOE Professional Development and Training Calendar.

For more information contact Maine DOE’s Child Nutrition Director Walter Beesley at walter.beesley@maine.gov or call 624-6875.

New Video Available to Assist with English Learner Identification

To support all Maine schools in administering this required form, the Maine Department of Education has produced a short video that explains the purpose of the Language Use Survey, how to access translation/interpretation services, and when further screening is needed to determine whether a student is an English learner.

Below please find a link to the video and the Language Use Survey:

If you have any questions about this video, please contact Maine DOE Director of ESOL/Bilingual Programs & Title III, April Perkins at (207)624-6627 or april.perkins@maine.gov.

School Bus Refurbishment Update

For school bus refurbishment contracts that have been completed, the Maine Department of Education will make subsidy payments.

Further guidance will be available to districts as soon as possible.

The Maine DOE thanks the field for their patience as we work through this change. Our mutual goal is to ensure safe transportation operations for Maine students. We will collaborate at all levels to achieve this critical goal.

Districts that were considering refurbishment services may be eligible for the Maine school bus purchase program. An overview of the program is available on the Department website (PDF).

If you have questions about the school bus purchase program or refurbishment, please contact Pat Hinckley, Transportation and Facilities Administrator, at pat.hinckley@maine.gov or 207-624-6886.

PRIORITY NOTICE: Graduation Reporting Due by September 15, 2018

The data is due to the Maine Department of Education on or before Saturday, September 15, 2018. As the final step in the new streamlined process, the Department will look over submissions and send an email response to the Superintendent and the person who sent the report to inform them that the data is ready for certification. As in the past, the data needs to be certified by the Superintendent within two working days from the receipt of the email from the Department. More detailed instructions are available below.

For further questions regarding accessing the module, please call the Helpdesk at 207-624-6896. For further questions about how to complete the Graduation Module, please contact Richard Bergeron 207-624-6840.

To further assist districts as they manage required reporting, the Department will be releasing a comprehensive beginning of the school year checklist for completing required reports.

Reminder of 2019 Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey (MIYHS)

This notice is a reminder that the sixth cycle for the Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey (MIYHS) will be administered in February, 2019.

In 2017 over 62,000 students from 350 schools participated in the Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey (MIYHS), providing insight into childhood and adolescent health. MIYHS data is used daily at the school, county, public-health district, state and even national level to make informed health decisions.

Find MIYHS data below:

State Level Health Snapshots for K/3, 5/6, Middle School, and High School
School and SAU level snapshots of the 2017 MIYHS data are available to Superintendents by contacting Reid.Plimpton@maine.gov.

Online school registration for the 2019 MIYHS cycle is available for the first time. Our survey partner, Pan Atlantic will contact schools in early September with registration information and other survey details.

For further questions contact Jean Zimmerman at jean.zimmerman@maine.gov.

Maine DOE Update – August 16, 2018

From the Maine Department of Education

Reporting Items

Student Health Data Needed for Nationwide Initiative

This notice is to inform all school administrators, school nurses and related staff of a new effort to collect and submit de-identified student health data to a nationwide initiative of National Association of School Nurses (NASN) entitled Every Student Counts™. The goals of Every Student Counts™ are to develop a robust national school health data set that will influence local, state, and national student health policy, as well as identify best practices in school health | More

| Visit the DC&R Reporting Calendar |

News & Updates

Certification Updates

Certification Updates

Please help share the following notice with all Maine educators.

The Maine Department of Education has now received 10,000 renewal applications since releasing the new online certification system, Maine Educator Information System (MEIS), to educators in June. There are currently 3,000 of those applications in queue, with an approximate eight-week processing time.

Approximately 70% of all Maine educators needing renewal have now applied. For those that have applied for renewal, it is important to note the following renewal procedure as outlined in Chapter 115 Part 1:

In the case of a complete application for the renewal of a credential that has not lapsed, the existing credential shall remain in effect until the application is approved or denied, and a renewal subsequently issued shall be deemed effective as of the expiration date of the previous certificate.

More than 50% of all certification related calls to the Department are applicants requesting updates of their application status. To decrease these calls and consequently process applications at a faster rate, please note the following:

Current processing times can be found on the Certification webpage.
Processing times begin on the date the complete application is received.
Applicants – Please do not call unless you applied more than eight weeks ago.

To increase support, a concerted effort has and will continue to be made to keep the Certification webpages up to date with current information, support documentation, and answers to frequently asked questions. If educators have additional questions not answered on the website, they can call 207-324-6603 or can email the certification department at cert.doe@maine.gov.

Further communications and updates are available on the Maine Department of Education Certification Webpage, Maine DOE’s official Facebook and Twitter pages, and the DOE newsroom.

Student Health Data Needed for Nationwide Initiative

In order for this to be successful at a statewide and national level, we are asking school administrators to commit to this ongoing effort and;

Select one point person in the school unit to be responsible for compiling and submitting the data from all schools to submit one report in June for each school administrative unit.
Share this notice with their school nurses and other health staff.

This data collection will be included with the School Health Annual Report that is submitted at the end of each school year. Although these added questions are not required, we strongly recommend every school unit participate. The data points, not covered in any other state or national survey, are:

Staffing levels for health services (direct services, supplemental staff, special assignments, supervisory position provided by RN, LPN, and health aides)
Number of students with a diagnosis (from a health care provider) of asthma, type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, seizure disorder, life threatening allergy
Health office visits & disposition (number of students seen face to face by RN, LPN, health aide and resulting disposition: return to class, sent home, or 911 call)

The Department is in full support of the NASN Every Student Counts™ initiative. The Maine Association of School Nurses will be working with the Maine DOE School Nurse Consultant to promote the collection of this data statewide.

If you have questions about Every Student Counts™, please contact Emily Poland, RN, School Nurse Consultant at Emily.Poland@Maine.gov or 207-624-6688, or visit the Every Student Counts™ Website.