From Peter.Bernard at maine.gov Mon Sep 21 15:44:38 2009 From: Peter.Bernard at maine.gov (Bernard, Peter) Date: Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:44:38 -0400 Subject: [Englishlanguagearts] English Language Arts Updates Message-ID: <32E5C6B0B949584D9B6168C5F727916B06EFCD8C@SOM-TEAQASMAIL1.som.w2k.state.me.us> Changes at the Maine Department of Education Congratulations to Diana Doiron who is now the Standards Education Implementation Specialist. Diana will continue to serve as regional representative to Aroostook County while shepherding the efforts to develop a statewide system of standards-based education. This change in responsibilities means that Diana will no longer be an English Language Arts specialist. Leeanne Larson is a literacy specialist currently concentrating on Reading First programs and will gradually assume responsibility for ELA content at early grades. For now, Patsy Dunton is the only ELA specialist. Inquiries should be directed to patsy.dunton at maine.gov. NECAP, PSAT/SAT, and Professional Development None of us need to be reminded that budgets are tight. In an effort to be fiscally responsible while providing for the needs of teachers, we will be offering a full day NECAP workshop in November to help plan professional development and instruction for the next year. Subsequent sessions will be electronic. PSAT/SAT professional development sessions will also be offered as a series of electronic presentations. Please email me if you have specific questions or suggestions for session topics. "National" Standards There has been a great deal of talk about the development and release of "national" standards. A few things need to be kept in mind as we all review and respond to this document. As you know, the federal government has no authority to develop and implement either common standards or a common assessment as a required practice. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) does require some federal accountability but consequences are limited to federal funding. Each state is required to develop a set of standards or learning targets and assess those standards to show progress toward achievement for all students. The concept of common standards has been discussed for quite some time. Because education is a matter of the states, the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the National Governor's Association (NGA) have taken the lead on developing a set of Common Core State Standards, sometimes referred to as the "common core." Notice that they are not called national standards as they can only be approved and implemented by each state but not by any national agency. The governors and chiefs were provided a first draft of the mathematics and English language arts proposed standards for college and career readiness document in July. They had a brief time to review and respond. Those comments were then considered as the original document was revised. This second draft, now available for public review, reflects the consideration given to the previous round of comments. The current document is posted with an opportunity to comment for 30 days. This survey provides everyone an opportunity to give feedback directly to the NGA and CCSSO before these end-of-high-school standards are expanded, or scaffolded, to become a K-12 standards document. Each state also has the opportunity to craft a response to the current document. I have created a Survey Monkey to provide Maine educators the opportunity to give me feedback. I will use the information from this survey to report back to Commissioner Gendron. The survey will be posted until the end of the day on October 13. As you evaluate the document in its entirety, think about whether it represents college and career readiness, whether it is appropriate for Maine, and what are the consequences of adoption and implementation, both intended and unintended. * To read the announcement regarding the release of this version of the standards document, go online to: http://www.corestandards.org/Files/CoreRelease.pdf * To read the FAQ, go to: http://www.corestandards.org/Files/CoreFAQ.pdf * The best place to view the standards first via this link: http://www.corestandards.org/Files/ELAStandardsSources.pdf * Use this link to view the standards with supporting material and to participate in the CCSSO and NGA electronic feedback: http://www.corestandards.org/. Follow the links to the content specific information. * To read a letter from Kylene Beers, President of the National Council of Teachers of English, regarding NCTE connection to this work: http://www.ncte.org/standards/commoncore/response * The Maine survey for responding to the proposed common ELA standards: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=FT3jea7fz648nxjaBdbzNg_3d_3d Patsy Dunton English Language Arts Specialist Maine Department of Education patsy.dunton at maine.gov 624-6625 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mailman.informe.org/pipermail/englishlanguagearts/attachments/20090921/91e272ae/attachment.html