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Annual Education Symposium to Highlight Innovation

The state’s largest event focused on education and workforce development – Educate Maine’s annual Symposium – this year celebrates innovation and new approaches to teaching, learning and training the state’s future workers.  Symposium 2024 brings together hundreds of teachers, business leaders, policymakers and administrators in a daylong event in downtown Portland Dec. 13.  This year boasts 82 speakers, 23 exhibitors and 450 registered attendees. More than 20 breakout sessions will… READ MORE

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Laurie Lachance Honored with Wes Bonney Award

Laurie G. Lachance, a pathbreaking college president, economist and champion of career readiness, will be honored with the prestigious Weston L. Bonney Education Leadership Award for 2024, Educate Maine announced. Lachance, the first female president of Thomas College, was also the first woman as Maine’s state economist and first female CEO of the Maine Development Foundation. She is being recognized for her achievement in both education and business and for her work making education and… READ MORE

Seasoned CTOYs Inspire Teachers-to-Be at Thomas College

It may not be in the official job description for Maine's County Teachers of the Year, but "inspiring the next generation of educators" is definitely a big aspect of the role. CTOYs from Franklin, Penobscot and Androscoggin spent a day with pre-service teachers at Thomas College Nov. 5, offering education students their seasoned perspective on the profession. Vickie Lailer, Emilie Throckmorton and Tanya Perreault, teachers in residence for the day, discussed their "why", and stressed the… READ MORE

Making Connections: First CSCLE Brings Educators, Business Innovators Together

Here's a recipe for success: Take a couple dozen Maine educators, mix well.  Fold in great lessons and networking with business innovators from across the state.  Season with practical advice.  Let them cook!  Maine's first Computer Science Connected Learning Experience was a big hit last week. The unique professional development opportunity, a project of Educate Maine and the Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance, offered teachers  the opportunity to tour and network with diverse and… READ MORE

Introducing Maine's 2025 Teacher of the Year

Educate Maine and its partners are pleased to announce  Maine’s 2025 Teacher of the Year! Becky Hallowell is a fourth-grade classroom teacher at Wiscasset Elementary School and Lincoln County Teacher of the Year.  She has been teaching Maine students for 30 years. Known for her dedication to place-based and project learning, her mentorship of new educators and her love of the outdoors, Hallowell strives to connect her students to their environment and their community.  Hallowell earned… READ MORE

Microsoft TechSpark Fellows start 7-week AI Learning Series Sprint

Our TechSpark Fellow, Angela Oechslie (Project>Login Director), kicked off the second year of her fellowship with Microsoft yesterday with the first online learning webinar in the AI Sprint. Maine CS ecosystem partners are invited to sign up for one or all webinars in the seven-week sprint: https://techspark.eventbuilder.com/AILearningSeries _______ Next Sprint – AI in Organizations October 8th We are excited to invite you to the AI in Organizations event on October 8th at 1:00 PM… READ MORE

Biolab Teams Up With 7 Lakes Alliance to Sample Maine Waters

Maine’s Mobile Biolab is getting around!  Recently lab educators Heather Carlisle and Anna Stehlik teamed up with scientists Matt Farragher and Josie Miller from the 7 Lakes Alliance in Belgrade to collect water samples from Salmon Lake and McGrath Pond. These samples were preserved and will be used to help teach students across the state about algal blooms and the crucial role balance plays in maintaining healthy ecosystems. Students will use FlowCam technology available aboard the BIOLAB… READ MORE

From Trustees to Teachers in Training, Biolab Thrills at UMF

She’s been from Fort Kent to South Portland, from the Midcoast to the mountains of Western Maine, bringing life science and STEM learning to teachers and students around the state. But Maine’s Mobile Biolab had not yet rolled onto the leafy campus of University of Maine at Farmington, which graduates dozens of teachers each year from its much-lauded education programs.  This week Educate Maine finally got to bring its rolling life-sciences lab and classroom to Farmington, where we were… READ MORE

New Report Cites Aging Workforce, Low Pay and Support in Teacher Shortage

A new analysis of education workforce data shows that Maine’s looming teacher shortage—a crisis that could seriously affect the future Maine economy—is here. There aren’t enough new educators in the pipeline to make up for an aging workforce in the state, according to the report by Educate Maine. Comparatively low pay, uneven professional support and narrow pathways to teacher qualification cause both an exodus from the teaching profession and a reluctance of young people to become… READ MORE