Maine DOE Update – May 18, 2017

From the Maine Department of Education

Notices and Reporting Items

More Notices | Administrative Letters | Reporting Calendar

News & Views

Notice of proposed rule changes to Chapter 81: Uniform School Bus Standards for Pupil Transportation in Maine

The Maine Department of Education is proposing to repeal and replace Chapter 81: Uniform School Bus Standards for Pupil Transportation in Maine in order to modernize the rule. | More

Applications now being accepted for Health Education and Physical Education Teacher Leader Cadre

Changes to School and District IDs for 2017-18 School Year

Important Title VI Small Rural Schools Achievement (SRSA) program update

Delay in implementation of new grant management system

The State of Maine is in the process of implementing a new grant management system for all state agencies, including the Department of Education. In prior communications, we have noted that the system was expected to be available starting this spring. | More

2017 County Teachers of the Year honored

Teachers from each of Maine’s 16 counties were today honored in Augusta’s State Capitol at an annual event in the Hall of Flags announcing the 2017 Maine County Teachers of the Year. | More

Improving the Success of Career and Educational Development (CED)

Yarmouth takes grand prize in Farm to School Cook-off

More Dispatches | Press Releases | Priority Notices

Latest DOE Career/Project Opportunities

View current Child Development Services employment opportunities here

Notice of proposed rule changes to Chapter 81: Uniform School Bus Standards for Pupil Transportation in Maine

The Maine Department of Education is proposing to repeal and replace Chapter 81: Uniform School Bus Standards for Pupil Transportation in Maine in order to modernize the rule.

The proposal involves four major changes:

Change the format of the rule to separate the rule into shorter and cleaner regulations.
Remove forms from the rule making it easier to adapt to national changes and align with the federal medical examination regulations.
Update the bus specifications to meet current bus technology, standards, and specifications.
Clarify safety, training, and program language to make the rule easier to interpret.

Proposed language of rule Chapters 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, and 86 can be found on the Department’s website. Written comments should be mailed to: Maine Department of Education, Attn: Pat Hinckley, 23 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0023, or emailed to pat.hinckley@maine.gov. The comment deadline is Friday, Jun. 16, 2017 at 5:00 p.m.

Delay in implementation of new grant management system

However, as we approach the FY 18 grant cycle, please note that there will be a delay in the implementation of the new system which means that you should continue to use the current GEM system for application and management of education grant opportunities. For grant opportunities that are not available in GEM, management will be manual as it has been in the past.

The Department of Education is working closely with the Office of the State Controller and as we move closer to implementation of the new Grant Management System, communication will be forthcoming.

Thank you for your patience. If you have questions, please contact denise.towers@maine.gov or 624-6863.

Changes to School and District IDs for 2017-18 school year

Since 2004, the Maine Department of Education has issued school and school administrative unit (SAU) IDs generated by the Maine Education Data Management System (MEDMS). The MEDMS system is being decommissioned and will no longer be used to generate or maintain these codes. School and SAU information is now maintained in the NEO Maine Schools module, which has its own set of IDs known as Organization (Org) IDs. Starting with the 2017-18 school year, schools and SAUs will need to use the NEO Org IDs for their schools and districts when communicating data to the Maine DOE. This includes uploading data to the new student information system (Synergy).

The Department will be communicating these ID changes to all student information systems (SIS) vendors that are on file as operating in Maine. Please ensure that your SIS vendor information is up to date in the NEO Maine Schools module so we will communicate with your vendor.

Crosswalks from the old MEDMS codes to the new NEO Org IDs are located on the Department’s Infrastructure website.

If you have any questions about these code changes, please contact Maine DOE’s Education Data Manager Charlotte Ellis at charlotte.ellis@maine.gov or 624-6696.

Yarmouth takes grand prize in Farm to School Cook-off

Whole grain crepes, a wild blueberry kelp smoothie, granola encrusted French toast and fish tacos were featured on the menu as the top two teams of school food service staff faced off at Freeport High School on April 26. This was the final round of the 2^nd Annual Maine Farm to School Cook-off, sponsored by the Maine Department of Education, Child Nutrition department. The cook-off aims to promote local products in school meals while showcasing the skills of school food service staff.

Pictured L to R: Stephanie Stambach (Maine DOE), Nikki Dovoren, Blaire Currier (Yarmouth School Department Food Service)

Each team prepared a breakfast and lunch meal that was presented to a panel of judges including a culinary arts student, chef and school nutrition director. The judges scored the dishes based on presentation, taste, creativity and food cost, as well as food safety and time management.

For breakfast, Yarmouth whipped up whole grain crepes with a strawberry topping and Maine maple syrup. This was paired with a wild blueberry kelp smoothie. The judges were impressed by the flavor and texture of the smoothie and commended the team for introducing a less common food to students in an appealing way. RSU 52 created a granola encrusted French toast and wild blueberry compote paired with a strawberry smoothie. Each team was tasked to incorporate wild Maine blueberries as a challenge ingredient in their breakfast dishes.

For lunch, Mexican fare was featured by both teams. RSU 52 cooked up chicken quesadillas with a fresh fruit salsa and grilled potatozana. Yarmouth prepared fish tacos using Gulf of Maine fish with a side of roasted potatoes and apple salsa. The judges commended the teams for a creative twist on a traditional salsa. Maine potatoes were used as the challenge ingredient for lunch.

Congratulations to Yarmouth who took the grand prize and was named the 2017 Maine Farm to School Cook-off Champion! All recipes from the cook-off will be shared in a Maine farm to school cook-off recipe book to be compiled this summer.

For information on how you can be part of next year’s Farm to School cook-off, contact Maine DOE’s Child Nutrition Consultant Stephanie Stambach at Stephanie.stambach@maine.gov.

Improving the Success of Career and Educational Development (CED)

The Maine Department of Education (DOE) is looking at the Career and Educational Development (CED) standards within the Maine Learning Results system to understand how schools are meeting the requirements of this content area. In examining this we are asking all school *principals, or a designated staff member focused in this content area to take a few moments to fill out this brief survey:

CED Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/3WHX828
(All surveys should be completed by Friday, June 9, 2017.)

Our goal is to get a snap shot of current implementation trends, discover challenge areas, and determine what supports may be useful for schools to best ensure the successful application of this content area within their curriculum.

College and career readiness development begins in elementary school and is reinforced and expanded as students move toward the attainment of their high school diploma. As such, we want to ensure that all schools at every level have the resources necessary as they work to meet the CED standards.

For questions contact Danielle Despins at danielle.r.despins@maine.gov or 207-624-6608.

*Administrators, please forward this message to the principals in your district.

Administrative Letter: New School Approval Process, Maine Schools Update due June 15, 2017

Administrative Letter: #8
Policy Code: KLL
TO: Private School Administrators
FROM: Robert G. Hasson, Jr., Ed. D. Commissioner
DATE: May 15, 2017
SUBJECT: New School Approval Process, Maine Schools Update due June 15, 2017

In accordance with 20-A M.R.S.A Chapter 117, the Maine Department of Education (DOE) requires private schools seeking approval status to be approved annually. Private schools, until and including 2017-18, have undergone a manual approval process, working with the School Enrollment Specialist.

Currently the Department is working toward moving the private school approval process to the NEO education information system by 2019. Our goal is to streamline and facilitate the entry and transfer of important and sensitive information critical to the school approval process.

Effective immediately, private schools seeking approval/renewal are required to enter their organization data (the NEO Maine Schools Update) on the same schedule as the public schools,* and complete staff data in the NEO Staff module prior to submitting the annual application/report. Please see this linked notice posted on April 12, 2017. The remainder of the Private School Approval process currently remains a manual process.

New Maine DOE School Approval web pages have been set up to fully outline the process, and link to instructions and guides for completing the required information in the NEO Maine Schools and Staff modules. The Private School Approval web page will be the source for required private school approval annual applications/reports and checklists, and will also provide links to other Department resources related to school approval, such as certification, helpdesk, and private school approval for receipt of public funds.

Please contact Pamela Ford-Taylor, Maine DOE School Enrollment Specialist at 207-624-6617 or Pamela.Ford-Taylor@maine.gov with questions or comments about the new requirements, the new web pages, or the school approval process.

*NEO Maine Schools must be completed by June 15 of this year. As a preliminary step, in order for an organization to be updated in Maine Schools, the superintendent or chief administrator of the school must be verified in the NEO Staff Module by contacting the Helpdesk staff, 624-6896 at the Department of Education, who can also assist schools who are new to the process or in any stage of the Maine Schools NEO report completion. For School Approval, please contact Pamela Ford-Taylor.

Public Preschool Annual Report due July 31

The Maine DOE is reminding school administrative units that have created or expanded a public preschool program within the past two years (2015-16 or 2016-17) to complete the Public Preschool Annual Report by July 31, 2017. The report can be found here.

This year’s report has been shortened to gather only the most pertinent information from Maine’s public preschool programs.

Please note this report is not required from SAUs with programs existing prior to 2015 or those who completed the Public Preschool Application by the March 31 deadline.

If you have questions about the survey or to inquire if your SAU is required to complete it, please contact Maine DOE’s Early Childhood Program Monitor Nicole Madore at nicole.madore@maine.gov or at 624-6677.

Applications now being accepted for Health Education and Physical Education Teacher Leader Cadre

The Maine DOE Health Education (HE) and Physical Education (PE) programs are seeking quality, motivated applicants to join the Maine Health Education and Physical Education Teacher Leader Cadre (HEPEC). Participants of this initiative are charged with leading the way in ensuring high quality proficiency-based HE & PE in all Maine schools. Cadre participants will work together to provide Maine HE & PE professionals with curriculum, instruction and assessment resources and tools; professional development that supports effective proficiency-based education teaching strategies; and skills and resources to educate about and advocate for quality HE & PE. Successful applicants will:

receive training in facilitation and leadership skills and formative assessment;
develop and deliver professional development at local, regional and statewide events; and
develop a website for the field, as well as, establish other effective modes of communication to share resources and materials.

Administrators are asked to identify potential teachers (pre-K through high school) and encourage them to join the HEPEC for teacher leaders. Enthusiasm and a desire to learn and to lead are more important than the current years of experience. Interested individuals need to complete an online application and submit at least one letter of support from a colleague. Successful applicants will need written approval from administration to participate in the project including permission to attend all the trainings. Maine DOE has grant funding to reimburse substitute pay, mileage and lodging for training days as well as to pay stipends for the Summer Institute. To apply, click here.

For more in-depth information contact Maine DOE’s Health Education & Health Promotion Coordinator Susan Berry at susan.berry@maine.gov or Maine DOE’s Health Education & Physical Education Consultant Jean Zimmerman at jean.zimmerman@maine.gov.

Important Title VI Small Rural Schools Achievement (SRSA) program update

The US Department of Education will be sponsoring a series of webinars now through June 28 to assist eligible Title VI SRSA districts with the online application process. The webinars will provide a walk-through designed to take applicants from the start to the finish. An information sheet, including dates, times and links for registration can be found here. Register early as space is limited to 350 seats for each webinar session. For questions, please contact Maine DOE’s Title VI Director Daniel Weeks at Daniel.r.weeks@maine.gov or 624-6749.