Ed commissioner embarks on “listening tour”

Bowen seeking input from all nine superintendent regions in first 100 days

AUGUSTA – Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen announced he will visit schools, superintendents and parents in each of the state’s nine superintendent regions in the first 100 days he is on the job. He also announced the first three dates on this “Listening Tour.”

“I want to hear from educators in the field about the work they are doing, and about how the Department can best support them in that work, and from parents their thoughts about how we can make our schools better,” Bowen said. “People in the field know what they need. Most important, I want to hear about their ideas for making the Department better and making education in Maine better.

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Maine DOE releases school construction list

Ranks needs in 71 school projects

AUGUSTA – The Maine Department of Education presented its ranking of the pre-K-12 school projects with the most significant needs to the State Board of Education on Wednesday. The proposed “priority list” is the first rating of school construction projects since the 2004-05 rating cycle, through which 22 schools were approved for renovation or construction.

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Bowen: Vote on rigorous standards creates certainty for Maine schools

Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen said Monday’s unanimous passage by the Education Committee of the Common Core State Standards means schools throughout the state can start focusing on adjusting their curriculum to the new, rigorous standards.

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Challenging Courses Net Results for Maine

College Board report shows Maine excels in Advanced Placement courses and exams

AUGUSTA – A new report from the College Board shows that efforts by school districts and more than 800 Maine teachers to challenge their students with rigorous courses are paying off.

Maine now ranks 12th in the nation for the percentage of students in the Class of 2010 having at least one successful AP experience: almost one in five Maine high school seniors has taken a college-level course and scored at least a 3 out of 5 on the AP exam, considered suitable college-level performance and eligible for credit at many colleges and universities. Maine has a higher percentage of students participating in AP courses than the national average, and a higher percentage of students scoring well on the AP exams.

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State Assessment Results Released

Reading, writing, math scores stable

AUGUSTA – The Maine Department of Education released the results Tuesday of the fall 2010 New England Common Assessment Program of testing in reading, writing and mathematics in grades 3 through 8.

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Drew Brees Takes on Maine Students in Rice Bowl Challenge

The New Orleans Saints quarterback and student teammates to battle Maine laptop students in fighting global hunger

AUGUSTA – Super Bowl 2010’s Most Valuable Player Drew Brees and the United Nations World Food Program are challenging students and sports fans to team up for a different kind of bowl game this February, with the goal of beating global hunger.

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Maine Students Score Better Than in Most States on National Science Test

AUGUSTA – Maine students outperformed students in most other states on the National Assessment of Educational Progress science test, the only test of student achievement that allows comparison of student performance across states.

Maine tied for the fifth highest science score in grade 4 and tied for eighth highest in grade 8. By some measures, such as percent of student proficiency, Maine ranks even higher on the test, which was administered in 2009 and is being reported today.

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Maine Students Selected for U.S. Senate Youth Program

Students Headed to Washington, D. C., and to Receive $5000 Scholarship

AUGUSTA – Senators Olympia J. Snowe and Susan M. Collins have announced the names of the two students who have been selected as delegates to the 49th annual United States Senate Youth Program, which will be held March 5-12 in Washington, D.C. David Bibeau of Scarborough and Krysta Moulton of Athens were chosen from across the state to be part of the group of 104 student delegates who will attend the program.

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