Statehood Day is March 15, which according to State statute is intended to “commemorate the admission of Maine as a state into the United States of America and the ideals and wisdom of those men and women who have formed Maine’s history and traditions.” Maine schools are encouraged to observe the day; following are some resources for consideration.
RSU 21 submits first PEPG approved plan
Earlier this month, the Maine Department of Education recognized the RSU 21 Kennebunk School District as the first school administrative unit to be approved for its performance evaluation and professional growth (PEPG) system plan.
Commissioner’s Update – March 3, 2016
From the Maine Department of Education
The Maine Department of Education is pleased to release the second collections of 2015-2016 articles in the “Content Corner.” These resources are designed to support teaching and learning in Maine classrooms and make connections to classroom applications and research.
The articles prepared for 2015-16 focus on instructional strategies to support educator understanding of effective practices in the content areas. The second collection includes:
- English Languages Arts/Literacy: Annotating a text: close reading with a pen
- Health Education and Physical Education: Feedback: A valuable teaching strategy for health education and physical education, Part 1
- Mathematics: Mathematically speaking, what is fluency?
- Science: Academically productive talk in science
- Social Studies: Social Studies: questions are as important as answers
- Visual and Performing Arts: Assessment strategies for the theatre classroom
- World Language: The why and how of thematic units in the world language classroom
- Early Childhood: Instruction in preschool programs
The first collection of articles was released in December 2015 and the third collection will be released in April.
Notices and Reporting Items
- School Bus Purchase Program Approval – Cancellation Report (EF-T-20A), due March 15 (Reminder)
- School Bus Purchase Report (EF-T-20: Quarter 3), due March 31 (Reminder)
More Notices | Administrative Letters | Reporting Calendar
News & Views
MEA for math and English language arts/literacy grades 3-8 portal opens
The eMPowerME Portal https://maine.measuredprogress.org/ is open. | More
ACCESS for ELLs® 2.0 testing window closes March 7
The ACCESS for ELLs® 2.0 testing window for both the computer-based and paper-based versions closes March 7. | More
AP4ALL registration is next week
Student registration begins March 7 for AP4ALL, which provides online Advanced Placement courses free of charge. | More
A snapshot of statewide implementation of proficiency-based education
Across the five Guiding Principles Maine school administrative units are making progress in providing students opportunity to demonstrate proficiency. | More
Net Off Invoice (NOI) products available to schools
The Maine Department of Education’s Child Nutrition program announces School Year (SY) 2017 Net Off Invoice (NOI) products available for processing. | More
State agency clients returning to their parental home, part II
This notice is to refine the information provided in the previous notice on State agency clients. | More
Read to ME Challenge engaged all ages and more
Teachers have challenged students, boys’ sports teams have challenged girls’ sports teams, town managers have challenged police chiefs, grandmothers have challenged grandchildren, librarians have challenged Rotarians, and the list goes on. | More
Student learning objectives regional trainings proved to be valuable to SAUs
Last month, the Maine Department of Education held regional trainings for over 350 educators from school administrative units (SAUs) around the state. | More
National Principals Leadership Institute, SICA Awards deadline
To celebrate the accomplishments of schools across the United States and Canada, the National Principals Leadership Institute this year has launched the School Innovation and Change Awards (SICA). | More
Four high school finalists chosen to compete in LifeSmarts State Championship
Teams of students from high schools in Bangor, Portland, Topsham, and Baileyville will vie to represent Maine in the National LifeSmarts Competition to be held next month. | More
More Dispatches | Press Releases | Priority Notices
LATEST DOE Career/Project Opportunities
A snapshot of statewide implementation of proficiency-based education
Across the five Guiding Principles Maine school administrative units are making progress in providing students opportunity to demonstrate proficiency, and across the content areas, SAUs have made more progress on aligning curriculum and summative assessments to the standards than in reporting proficiency. The data reveals that current implementation work in Maine SAUs most often focuses on shifts in instructional practice.
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Maine Adult Education Celebration at the State House
Wednesday, March 2
AUGUSTA — The Maine Department of Education joins the Maine Adult Education Association in celebrating adult students on March 3 at the State House in Augusta. For the 2014-15 academic year over 50,000 Maine adults enrolled in academic, workforce and personal enrichment courses and 1,523 received their high school credential.
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Read to ME Challenge engaged all ages and more
Teachers have challenged students, boys’ sports teams have challenged girls’ sports teams, town managers have challenged police chiefs, grandmothers have challenged grandchildren, librarians have challenged Rotarians, and the list goes on demonstrating the many varied ways in which Maine accepted the Read to ME Challenge. The Challenge began with the First Lady reading with a group of children at the Blaine House and then the Challenge took off.
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Student learning objectives regional trainings proved to be valuable to SAUs
Last month, the Maine Department of Education held regional trainings for over 350 educators from school administrative units (SAUs) around the state. The trainings were held in Portland, Farmington, Ellsworth, and Presque Isle. The Maine DOE hosted presenters from the Community Training and Assistance Center (CTAC) in all four locations.
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National Principals Leadership Institute, SICA Awards deadline
To celebrate the accomplishments of schools across the United States and Canada, the National Principals Leadership Institute this year has launched the School Innovation and Change Awards (SICA). Five schools will each receive a $10,000 sustainability grant to advance their work.
Continue reading “National Principals Leadership Institute, SICA Awards deadline”
Net Off Invoice (NOI) products available to schools
The Maine Department of Education’s Child Nutrition program announces School Year (SY) 2017 Net Off Invoice (NOI) products available for processing. Schools will log onto NEO to submit their requests beginning March 14 – 25, 2016. This is not a change from previous years, only an announcement this will be available on March 14, 2016.
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Advanced CTE, a name change for the national association
The National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium unveiled its new name, Advance CTE: State Leaders Connecting Learning to Work. The new name reflects and reaffirms the organization’s long history of serving as the voice of state Career Technical Education (CTE) leaders and its commitment to advancing an innovative CTE system that prepares individuals and the U.S. economy for success.
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