At the beginning of the month, higher education representatives gathered with Maine Department of Education staff to learn about, talk with, and come up with plans for educator preparation programs throughout Maine colleges and universities with educator career tracks.
The objective of the workshop was to identify training needs to best prepare candidates for positions in high poverty, isolated, small, and high-risk schools, to explore strategies to increase recruitment of higher quality teaching applicants, and more.
Deputy Commissioner Bill Beardsley asked the leaders to consider how they personally can help contribute to the betterment of Maine’s students and teachers.
How the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) pertains to both college programs and future teachers was addressed by Chief Academic Officer Rachelle Tome.
In the final part of the workshop, Educator Effectiveness Coordinator Chuck Lomonte conversed with the attendees about how the educator preparation programs will interface with Maine’s plan to ensure equitable access to excellent educators. The representatives shared feedback about best practices for conducting a survey and making sure that all 
schools are represented equally as the State assists school administrative units in implementing Performance Evaluation and Professional Growth (PEPG).
For more information about Maine Higher Education services, contact Higher Education Specialist Ángel Martínez Loredo at angel.loredo@maine.gov or call 624-6846.
For information about Maine’s PEPG movement, contact Educator Effectiveness Coordinator Charles Lomonte at charles.lomonte@maine.gov or call 624-6748.