The Legislature’s Education Committee voted unanimously Wednesday afternoon in favor of LD 1858, a bill that would require schools to adopt teacher and principal evaluation systems.
Continue reading “Bowen lauds Ed Committee vote on teacher effectiveness”
The Office of Special Services at the Maine Department of Education will provide training on the electronic application process for 2012-13 Local Entitlement funds. There will be a choice of webinar sessions – April 26 at 9 a.m. or 1 p.m. The webinar is anticipated to last approximately 1.5 hours.
The following is a news release from the Maine STEM Collaborative, of which the Maine Department of Education is a member.
WATERVILLE – From precision manufacturing to environmental science and information technology, Maine will see thousands of highly paid jobs created across the state in the next 10 years. But mounting evidence shows that Maine continues to do a poor job producing enough workers with the skills necessary to work in these high-paying industries.
Continue reading “2012 STEM Summit: Closing the Skills Gap an Economic Imperative”
Schools will share successful strategies with colleagues from across New England
AUGUSTA – Three Maine secondary schools—Deer Isle-Stonington High School, Hall-Dale Middle/High School (Farmingdale), and Westbrook High School—have been invited to represent their state at a regional conference on effective strategies for improving teaching and learning in the 21st century.
Continue reading “Three schools to represent Maine at innovation conference”
The following is a news release from the Maine State Charter School Commission.
Commission adds sessions in Presque Isle, Machias to hear from public about rural educational needs
AUGUSTA – The Maine State Charter School Commission will travel to Aroostook and Washington counties in early April to hear from the public about regional educational needs that could be addressed by charter schools.
Continue reading “Charter school commission schedules more public input sessions”
Preliminary state education subsidy printouts (ED 279) have been updated for 113 school administrative units to reflect updated data regarding adult education course counts.
Continue reading “Preliminary state subsidy printouts updated for 113 units”
The Maine Legislature’s Education Committee held a public hearing March 15 on legislation that removes language in Maine statute that prohibits public tuition dollars from going to private religious schools that would otherwise be approved for the receipt of such funding.
Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen delivered the following testimony supporting LD 1866, An Act to Remove Inequity in Student Access to Certain Schools. Continue reading “Bowen testimony in support of religious schools bill”
AUGUSTA – Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen testified today in favor of the final two bills of Gov. Paul LePage’s education agenda, arguing that students and families across the state should have choices in finding the best school settings for their children. It’s a choice that families in some communities have, but in many others, do not.
Continue reading “Choice bills would let students learn in best setting”
The Maine Legislature’s Education Committee held a public hearing March 15 on legislation that establishes an open enrollment program that allows public schools to become “schools of choice” and enroll students from outside the district boundaries. The bill allows students and families to choose school settings that work best for each individual student.
Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen delivered the following testimony supporting LD 1854, An Act to Expand Educational Opportunities for Maine Students. Continue reading “Bowen testimony in support of open enrollment bill”
On Tuesday, the Legislature’s Education Committee heard the first of four pieces of education-related legislation proposed this winter by Gov. LePage: LD 1865, An Act to Enhance Career and Technical Education.
On Wednesday, the hearings continued when LD 1858, An Act to Ensure Effective Teaching and School Leadership, came before the Committee.
The last two hearings take place this afternoon, when LD 1854, An Act to Expand Educational Opportunities for Maine Students, and LD 1866, An Act to Remove Inequity in Student Access to Certain Schools, are up before the Committee.
Thanks to those of you who have turned out for these hearings to let the Education Committee know what you think about the bills and how you think they can be improved.
We’ve been doing our best to keep everybody informed as these bills have been printed and public hearings have been scheduled. We’ve made the bill text, public hearing schedule and Department testimony available on our website at www.maine.gov/doe/first/.
Speaking of our website, we launched a major overhaul of it yesterday afternoon, at maine.gov/doe/. The new website is not complete – in some cases you’ll find links from the new website to content that resides on the Maine DOE’s old website. But that will change gradually as the overhaul continues. Stay tuned, and let us know what you think by taking the survey at www.maine.gov/doe/about.html.
Maine DOE Newsroom 