Commissioner Bowen to help honor inaugural grads of Maine’s first charter school

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.

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Education Commissioner affirms State commitment to school improvement as alternate grading bill fails

AUGUSTA – Maine’s Education Commissioner says the demise of Democrat-led legislation that would have derailed the new State school report card system allows his Department to keep its focus fully on school improvement.

LD 1540, “An Act To Fix and Improve the System Used to Evaluate or Rate Public Schools in Maine,” was introduced by Democrats as a challenge to the LePage Administration’s new A-F school grades.

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Legislative budget misses opportunity to support students

AUGUSTA – As Governor Paul R. LePage continues to review the upcoming two-year budget, which was delivered to him late last week, he has discovered a disturbing trend of cuts to education. The budget reflects a slashing by the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee of supports for existing programs proven to prepare Maine youth for success in college and their careers and some innovative new ones.

That committee cut a total of $18.4 million proposed by the Department of Education and Governor LePage, including reducing funding over the next two years for Jobs for Maine’s Graduates by $600,000 and the Aspiration program– which raises education aspirations by allowing students to take college courses at a reduced rate – by $1.2 million.

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Commissioner Bowen to address Rockland Kiwanis Monday

ROCKPORT – Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen will speak to the Rockland Kiwanis Club Monday about his department’s commitment to seeing all Maine students leave school college and career ready.

In his remarks as the guest speaker at the June 10 lunchtime Kiwanis meeting at the Samoset Resort in Rockport, Commissioner Bowen will share how the Maine Department of Education is increasingly a resource to districts in developing and deploying the best practices that ensure educator effectiveness and high student achievement.

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