From the Maine Department of Education Reporting Items State Reporting Summer Training Mark your calendars! Registration for the Data Summer Training is currently open! Trainings are scheduled at varying locations across the state from July 29th to August 1st and August 12th to August 15th. This year’s training will focus on reporting resource updates, guidance for data reporting best practices, and assistance with student enrollment. We look forward to providing this opportunity to meet with school administrative units to network and collaborate. |  More Due Dates & Resources for Qua ..read more

The Maine Department of Education (DOE) has opened registration for the second year of the American Ancestors genealogical inquiry workshop for grade 4-8 teachers and administrators.  This program trains teachers to use inquiry-based lessons incorporating authentic methodologies professional genealogists use.  Lessons guide students through conducting family history research, thinking like a historian, honing their research skills using primary sources, and exploring case studies of important local and national people.  Go beyond family trees and help students make real-world pe ..read more

Are you interested in exploring critical issues impacting early care and education? Are you wondering how you could work more collaboratively within your community to connect early childhood partners (e.g., childcare, schools, community-based organizations, etc.)? Are you eager to connect with other early childhood educators and consider ways of strengthening the early care and education mixed-delivery system in your community? Consider attending the Early Childhood Summer Summit on Thursday, July 11, 2024, at Keeley’s Banquet Center, 178 Warren Avenue, Portland, Maine.  The summit w ..read more

United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC) recently released a press release highlighting Guidance for Preventing Spread of Infections in Schools to Keep Children Healthy and Learning. The full guidance, Preventing Spread of Infections in K-12 Schools, has been provided for consideration in the 2024 – 2025 school year on preventing the spread of infections in schools. US CDC is now providing this guidance to ensure it can be part of back-to-school preparations as plans for the new school year in the fall are being formulated. The evidence-based strategies included in thi ..read more

(Pictured: Valerie, a student at Harriet Beecher Stowe Elementary, Brunswick School Department.) Summer vacation is a welcome break from the daily school routine for children and parents alike, but the summer months can be detrimental to students’ learning if young minds are not kept active. Summer learning loss is a well-documented phenomenon, particularly for reading achievement.  Students can lose up to three months of reading progress during the summer if they don’t keep reading.  Combined across a child’s PK-8 school career, this can result in 1-2 years of lost reading progress ..read more

Food Service Coordinator Sheila Nevells and Administrative Secretary Liana Littig Selected as Recognizing Inspiring School Employees (RISE) State Finalists Maine Education Commissioner Pender Makin joined School Union 76 school leaders and staff to honor Food Service Coordinator Sheila Nevells, and Deputy Commissioner Dan Chuhta joined Deering High School and Portland Public School leaders and staff to honor Administrative Secretary Liana Littig with the Recognizing Inspiring School Employees (RISE) Award for the extraordinary contributions they have made to their students, schools, and commun ..read more

The Maine Department of Education (DOE) and the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, in collaboration with the Maine Roads to Quality Professional Development Network (MRTQ PDN), are thrilled to announce the release of the updated Preschool-Maine Early Learning and Development Standards (P MELDS). Formally known as Maine’s Early Learning and Development Standard (MELDS, 2015), this new version aligns the Infant Toddler Maine Early Learning and Development Standards (IT MELDS) and Maine Learning Results, K-12 learning standards, with Maine’s early learning and development standards fo ..read more

As part of our work to elevate the expertise of the Maine education field, the Maine Department of Education (DOE) is looking to hire Maine English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) educators in the following areas: elementary newcomer programming, including SLIFE, secondary newcomer programming, including SLIFE, and Multilingual Learners with disabilities. These educators will be provided a stipend through this program to: Enhance and revise content on the Maine DOE website related to their focus area; Provide Maine educators technical assistance regarding classroom-specific best practi ..read more

The Maine Department of Education (DOE) is excited to announce that its Annual Summit is scheduled for August 6th through 8th at Augusta Civic Center. This year’s theme is Supporting the Whole Student & Community. The event features keynote speakers Pender Makin, Maine Education Commissioner; Jared Cooney Horvath, a Neuroscientist and Educator; Kim Strobel, a motivational speaker and Happiness Coach; and Catherine Ann Wilson, the founder of Stop Trafficking US, along with over 150 presentations and professional learning opportunities for everyone working in Maine’s school communi ..read more

$6.6 million investment will provide 4,000 students with access to free afterschool and summer outdoor learning and career exploration programs    Governor Janet Mills today announced a significant expansion of her Maine Outdoor Learning Initiative that will provide thousands of middle and high school students with access to free outdoor learning and career exploration programs this summer and fall.    Launched by Governor Mills in 2022, the Maine Outdoor Learning Initiative is a statewide effort to connect Maine’s young people to the outdoors through engaging, hands-on lea ..read more