The Association for Computer Technology Educators of Maine (ACTEM) announced their REBOOTED and REIMAGINED awards, open to innovative educators at all grade levels that have a direct impact on student learning. Since educators and leaders roles are increasingly blurred, new ACTEM ACHIEVE awards will not distinguish between the two categories.
Continue reading “New technology awards announced, nominations open through June 1”
Nominations are open for the Maine Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (MAHPERD) Teachers of the Year awards.
Continue reading “Nominations open for MAHPERD Teachers of the Year”
The Maine DOE will continue school site visits into June to provide targeted technical assistance for proficiency-based extension options five and six.
Continue reading “Maine DOE continues site visits to support proficiency-based efforts”
Welcome to the April issue of the Maine DOE Monthly, which provides a recap of some of the month’s most important updates from the Department.
There are incredible things happening in Maine schools, several of which we recently spotlighted as part of our commitment to celebrating the state’s students and educators. For the fifth straight year, our high school graduation rate was up and State and federal data shows Maine is closing achievement gaps as graduation rates among economically disadvantaged students, those with disabilities and some minorities are on the rise and above national averages. This month we also recognized 21 schools for their high performance or progress as measured by our federally required accountability system and honored 14 teen mentors and 21 student artists.
Read on for a roundup of other recent updates from the Department and as always, stay tuned to our Newsroom and weekly Commissioner’s Updates for the latest news you can use from the Maine DOE.
AUGUSTA – Maine’s high school graduation rate has hit an all-time high, as has the percentage of students who are either economically disadvantaged or have a disability and are earning their diploma in four years. | More
Nearly two-thirds of the reward schools have more than 50 percent of their students qualifying for free or reduced price lunch, proving that all students are capable of achieving academic success when schools put in place the appropriate supports and strategies to help them overcome challenges. | More
The Department’s School Improvement Team is continuing to provide support and technical assistance to help raise student achievement at the state’s schools, including those recently identified as priority, focus and monitor under Maine’s federally required accountability system. | More
Governor Paul R. LePage and Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy President and CEO Liza McFadden honored 14 teen mentors with Excellence Awards in leadership and service during a recent recognition ceremony at the Blaine House. | More
Twenty-one student artists will have an audience of more than 70,000 students and educators for their artwork starting this fall. | More
The Maine DOE is accepting recommendations for the 2015 Maine Educator Talent Pool through May 1. | More
The Maine Departments of Education and Health and Human Services have released Maine’s Early Learning and Development Standards (MELDS), which outline what children should know and be able to do by the end of preschool. | More
The Maine DOE has created a new online application form that will make it easier for districts to apply for State approval of new or expanding public preschool programs. | More
The Maine DOE is seeking volunteers to serve as surrogate parents for children with disabilities in educational matters. | More
Maine schools are invited to attend the 30th Annual Maine DOE Schoolsite Health Promotion & Wellness Conference from Wednesday, June 24 through Friday, June 26 at Sugarloaf. | More
The Maine DOE is encouraging educators to attend a May 20 workshop entitled Language and Communication for Young Children with Autism. | More
The Blueberry Harvest School has been named the winner of the Maine Environmental Education Association Excellence in Environmental Education Program Award. | More
As parts of its commitment to ensuring all students have access to great teachers and leaders, the Maine DOE has developed a resource that districts can use to self-assess their readiness to pilot their Performance Evaluation and Professional Growth (PEPG) systems in the 2015-16 school year. The Pilot Readiness Guide provides:
This guide is intended for local district use. It is not for reporting purposes. As a follow-up to this resource, in June, the Department will ask districts to confirm their intent to pilot by completing a short online survey. Details about this process will be provided with the release of the survey.
More Notices | Administrative Letters | Reporting Calendar
The Maine DOE is inviting Maine educators to participate in a free webinar, Laying the Foundation for Performance Assessment: Lessons Learned from the Innovation Lab Network Pilot in New England, on Wednesday, May 27 at 3 p.m. | More
The Department is reminding school administrative units (SAU) and private schools approved for tuition purposes that they are now required to establish regional school calendars, in coordination with their local secondary Career and Technical Education (CTE) school. | More
The Maine Learning Technology Initiative (MLTI) is encouraging educators to save the date for its 2015 Summer Institute, scheduled July 21-23 at Bowdoin College in Brunswick. | More
The Maine DOE is reminding school administrative units (SAUs) that the remaining 2014-15 subsidy checks for General Purpose Aid for local schools will reflect adjustments for MaineCare Seed payments paid by the Department on behalf of districts. | More
The deadline to submit the MEA Alternate Science (PAAP) portfolios electronically is 5 p.m. today, April 30. | More
Maine’s teachers are invited to apply for part-time work available now through June as a reader/evaluator in the scoring process for students across states who participated in the 2015 Smarter Balanced developed assessment.| More
The Maine DOE is reminding schools that the ACCESS for ELLs® score reports received earlier this month can be used to determine if individual English learners are meeting expected English language proficiency growth. | More
More Dispatches | Press Releases | From the Commissioner
Maine’s teachers are invited to apply for part-time work available now through June as a reader/evaluator in the scoring process for students across states who participated in the 2015 Smarter Balanced developed assessment. Continue reading “Maine teachers invited to participate in assessment hand scoring”
The deadline to submit the MEA Alternate Science (PAAP) portfolios electronically is 5 p.m. today, April 30. Continue reading “Alternate assessments closing soon”
The Maine Learning Technology Initiative (MLTI) is encouraging educators to save the date for its 2015 Summer Institute, scheduled July 21-23 at Bowdoin College in Brunswick. Continue reading “Educators encouraged to save the date for 2015 MLTI Summer Institute”
As parts of its commitment to ensuring all students have access to great teachers and leaders, the Maine DOE has developed a resource that districts can use to self-assess their readiness to pilot their Performance Evaluation and Professional Growth (PEPG) systems in the 2015-16 school year. The Pilot Readiness Guide provides:
Continue reading “Maine DOE provides resources, guidance to support educator evaluation pilot”
The Department is reminding school administrative units (SAU) and private schools approved for tuition purposes that they are now required to establish regional school calendars, in coordination with their local secondary Career and Technical Education (CTE) school.
Maine DOE Newsroom 