AUGUSTA – Seven groups informed the Maine Charter School Commission (MCSC) that they plan to submit applications to open public charter schools in Maine. All of the groups hope to open a school in the fall of 2014.
The deadline for delivery of the letters to the Maine Charter School Commission or having them postmarked was this past Tuesday.
Continue reading “Commission receives notice of 7 charter school proposals”
A new law, signed by Governor Paul R. LePage in April, requires all school personnel to complete Suicide Prevention Awareness Training beginning in the 2014-15 academic year. In addition, all school administrative units (SAUs) must have at least two staff members trained as suicide prevention “gatekeepers.” SAUs with more than 1,000 students will need to add (at least) one gatekeeper for every additional 500 students. Continue reading “New Maine law requires suicide prevention training for all school personnel”
It has been a great honor to serve students and schools as the Commissioner of the Maine Department of Education for the past two and a half years. In that time, we’ve made incredible progress in moving from plan to practice our Education Evolving strategic plan to restructure Maine’s education system around our students. Continue reading “A letter from Commissioner Bowen: A new opportunity”
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act waiver will allow Maine to move forward on local and State reforms that will cut in half the percentage of non-proficient students at each Title I school by 2018
AUGUSTA – Maine will have flexibility in meeting federal education requirements and be allowed to implement its own statewide system to hold schools accountable and help them improve student outcomes.
HINCKLEY – Less than two years after Governor Paul R. LePage’s landmark student choice legislation finally allowing public charter schools in Maine went into effect, his Education Commissioner will help celebrate the state’s first charter school graduation.
Commissioner Stephen Bowen will speak this evening at the ceremony for the 10 students in the first class to graduate from The Maine Academy of Natural Sciences at Good Will-Hinckley (MeANS). The event will be held at 5 p.m. at the Moody Chapel on the campus of Kennebec Valley Community College in Hinckley.
Continue reading “Commissioner Bowen to help honor inaugural grads of Maine’s first charter school”