AUGUSTA – The Maine State Board of Education has new leadership, having elected Nancy S. Perkins as chair and Peter E. Geiger as vice-chair.
Forums scheduled on EPS school funding system
The Maine Legislature has contracted with Lawrence O. Picus and Associates to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the EPS school funding system.
As part of that, Picus will be putting on four public stakeholder forums throughout the state on July 16, 17 and 18. All interested parties – educators, parents, taxpayers and interested citizens – are encouraged to attend one of the forums.
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Scheduled downtime for school transportation software
The Maine DOE’s school transportation software, Transfinder, is undergoing a server improvement and will be temporarily unavailable to the public starting Friday, July 12 at 9 p.m. and ending before 9 a.m. on Saturday, July 13.
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Commissioner’s Update – July 11, 2013
From the Commissioner
Last week I had the privilege of attending the 21st Annual Model Schools Conference down in Washington, D.C. Put on by the International Center for Leadership in Education, this year’s conference provided teachers and educational leaders, including many from Maine, with practical ideas for increasing student achievement and ensuring college and career readiness in an age of declining resources and higher standards.
Notices and Reporting
Successful schools use data to focus improvement efforts
Last week I had the privilege of attending the 21st Annual Model Schools Conference down in Washington, D.C. Put on by the International Center for Leadership in Education, this year’s conference provided teachers and educational leaders, including many from Maine, with practical ideas for increasing student achievement and ensuring college and career readiness in an age of declining resources and higher standards.
Continue reading “Successful schools use data to focus improvement efforts”
Common Core – ELA: Mind the shifts
By this fall, schools are expected to have fully implemented the new Common Core English language arts and math standards that are now part of the Maine Learning Results standards. Of course, there’s still much for teachers and all of us to learn about how to adjust our teaching to the new standards, but we know that new standards require teachers to think differently about what they do in the classroom. Below is a quick overview of the six shifts that have been identified as critical to effectively implementing the Common Core standards in ELA. Looking for a little summertime study? Read to the bottom for links to additional resources.
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Maine math teachers prepare for coming assessments
Resources available online
The Maine DOE collaborated with the Association of Teachers of Mathematics in Maine (ATOMIM) in organizing a series of two-session “Dine and Discuss” events this spring to share information about the Smarter Balanced assessments and Maine’s role as a governing state in the consortium.
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New teacher leaders discuss proficiency in the arts
The Maine DOE’s Maine Arts Assessment Initiative (MAAI) welcomed 14 new teacher leaders during the summer institute held at the Maine College of Art in Portland. More than 50 visual and performing arts teachers have received professional development to become teacher leaders and continue to provide workshops on a variety of topics that include assessment. During the last two years, more than 800 teachers have attended sessions at the regional, mega-regional and statewide levels, and electronically. The teachers represent dance, music, theatre and visual arts from PK-12 grade levels and all regions of the state.
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Conference promotes student, staff health and well-being
School districts from across the state attended the 2013 Maine Schoolsite Health Promotion Conference, Celebrating the Seasons of Wellness, last month to gather knowledge, skills, resources, ideas and inspiration to apply to their 2013-14 Health Promotion and Wellness Action Plans.
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Free webinar series supports healthy school environments
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is offering a free webinar series to help school communities take sensible, low- or no-cost steps to create healthier environments in their buildings. Each webinar will feature school district personnel from across the country presenting their real-life examples and solutions.
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Maine DOE Newsroom 