Maine DOE Monthly – July 30, 2013

Welcome to the July issue of Maine DOE Monthly.

It’s hard to believe that children will be back in the classroom in just a few weeks. Summer has flown by here at Maine DOE as we’ve been fully focused on supporting schools to improve student outcomes. We awarded Montello Elementary in Lewiston a $1.8 million School Improvement Grant, added more informative and inspirational videos to our Center for Best Practice and traveled across the state teaching schools how to use the new Maine DOE Data Warehouse to inform improvement planning and action for the upcoming school year.

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Notice of change in law regarding Superintendent Agreements

The statute regulating Superintendent Agreements has been amended to include the following language: “A transfer approved under this subsection may be made only to a receiving school administrative unit that operates a public school that includes the grade level of the student whose parent requests the transfer.”

As a result of this new law, a transfer granted so the student can be tuitioned to a private school will no longer be allowed. Continue reading “Notice of change in law regarding Superintendent Agreements” →

Commissioner’s Update – July 25, 2013

From the Commissioner

Following the launch of the Maine School Performance Grading System, we’ve spent our time reaching out to underperforming and at-risk schools to learn more about their challenges and the supports they’d like Maine DOE to provide.

What we continue to hear is that schools want to learn from other Maine schools that are like them. In the words of one school leader, “Tell us what’s working in other places with similar populations and budget concerns.” That’s the thinking behind our Center for Best Practice, which provides success stories (and videos) from schools in our state implementing learner-centered instructional practices.

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Notices and Reporting

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Opportunities for sharing your school success story

Following the launch of the Maine School Performance Grading System, we’ve spent our time reaching out to underperforming and at-risk schools to learn more about their challenges and the supports they’d like Maine DOE to provide.

What we continue to hear is that schools want to learn from other Maine schools that are like them. In the words of one school leader, “Tell us what’s working in other places with similar populations and budget concerns.” That’s the thinking behind our Center for Best Practice, which provides success stories (and videos) from schools in our state implementing learner-centered instructional practices. Continue reading “Opportunities for sharing your school success story” →

Race to the Top district competition seeks peer reviewers

The U.S. Department of Education has announced a second Race to the Top district grant competition and is looking for qualified individuals to serve as peer reviewers. This competition will build on the success of past Race to the Top competitions and support bold, locally directed improvements in learning and teaching that will directly improve student achievement and educator effectiveness.

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Maine students invited to help NASA

In March, NASA launched an exciting new partnership with Lockheed Martin to engage students across the nation in America’s next phase of human space exploration. The Exploration Design Challenge (EDC) is now inviting Maine students from kindergarten through 12th grade to learn more about one of the biggest challenges NASA faces before sending humans beyond low-Earth orbit: space radiation. Through a series of age-appropriate activities, participants will learn about radiation and its effects on humans and hardware destined for asteroids, Mars or other deep space locations. Orion is the vehicle for these space destinations and will make its maiden test flight in 2014.

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County students to benefit from Aroostook Aspirations Initiative

Thanks to the Fiddlehead Focus for sharing this information with the Maine DOE for publication.

AROOSTOOK COUNTY – A first-of-its-kind, County-wide project will provide significant opportunities for young people in the region to pursue their dreams, and, in turn, support higher education institutions and bolster economic development efforts in northern Maine.

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U.S. DOE requests information on Native American English learners

The U.S. Department of Education has re-opened its Request for Information (RFI) on Native American English learners. The purpose of the RFI is to gather information pertaining to the identification and placement of Native American students who are English learners in language instruction educational programs. The U.S. DOE developed this RFI to help State and local educational agencies, schools, tribes and other interested entities identify, share and implement practices for accurately identifying Native American students who are English learners.

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Change for youth served by Child Development Services

As a recipient of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) funds, the State of Maine is required to identify in writing for local educational agencies any special education rule that is a State-imposed requirement and not mandated under federal IDEA requirements. Maine’s yearly application for IDEA, Part B, funding also requires this identification.

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