PROMOTING EDUCATION & CAREER READINESS FOR ALL

Friends and Partner News
Scholarships Available! 

The Mitchell Institute is accepting applications for the 2020 Mitchell Scholarships.  

Mitchell Scholarships are awarded to  students who demonstrate financial need, academic promise, and community impact and plan to attend two- or four-year degree programs at colleges both in- and out-of-state. 

The online application is open
until April 1! You can find the
application link, requirements, 
and additional college  and  scholarship resources on  t heir  website: 

The $10,000 scholarship is  awarded to a graduating senior from every public high school in Maine. 

Please encourage all graduating college-bound students from Maine's public high schools to apply. The application deadline is April 1, 2020.


The Maine Blue Collar Scholarship Foundation and the Maine Manufacturers Association of Maine, a statewide trade organization of 400 manufacturers, announced they are collaborating to award more than $100,000 in scholarships to students and instructors throughout Maine. 

The goal is to fund more than 100 students and instructors with scholarships between $500 and $2,500 each. The Maine Blue Collar Scholarship can be used for tools, books, uniforms, tuition or housing. Students and instructors interested in applying for the scholarship awards can apply at  www.mainebluecollar.com.

Jason Judd honored with Achiever Award


Jason Judd, Ed.D., our Executive Director, was recently honored as a recipient of the 2020 Maine Education Opportunity Association's Achiever Award. This award recognizes professionals who are graduates of TRIO programs; persons of high stature within their profession; make significant civic, community or professional contributions; and pursued higher education beyond a bachelor's degree.
Congratulations Jason! Well deserved.
New opportunities in AI and Machine Learning coming to Portland thanks to Maine Native

David Roux and his wife, Barbara, are launching a new graduate and research facility in Maine. The Roux Institute at Northeastern  is designed to educate generations of talent for the   digital and  life sciences  sectors, and drive sustained economic growth in Portland, the state of Maine, and northern New England. The New York Times covered the announcement here.

We are thrilled that so many of Educate Maine and Project>Login's core employer partners are supporting this education initiative including: IDEXX, Bangor Savings Bank, L.L. Bean, MaineHealth, The Jackson Laboratory, Unum and Wex. Read more about the  news here.
Shaw's GIVE BACK WHERE IT COUNTS Reusable Bag Program

For the month of February, every time the reusable $2.50 GIVE BACK WHERE IT COUNTS Reusable Bag is sold at the Shaw's store located at 1364 Congress St, Portland ME, Educate Maine will receive a $1 donation.
Educate Maine stood out to store leadership at Shaw's, and they selected our organization as the featured non-profit for the month of February!
Facts and Figures
For 2018...
62% of Maine high school graduates enrolled in college
within a year of graduation.
The gap in college-going
rates between economically disadvantaged (50%) and not economically disadvantaged students (75%) was 25 points.
Educate Maine Welcomes New Staff
Kate Howell, Program Manager, FocusMaine Intern Experience

Kate Howell has worked in Human Resources and leadership roles throughout her career. Most recently, Kate was HR Generalist at EnviroLogix in Portland, ME focusing on recruitment, career development, and university relations. She led the national university relations program for EnviroLogix' parent company, EBI and brings a wealth of knowledge in the area of internship programming and university partnerships. Prior to her move to Maine, Kate worked in New York City and Washington, DC across a variety of industries including the PR and political consulting company, GMMB, and non-profits including The Welfare to Work Partnership and The New York Public Library. Kate holds a Bachelor of Science in Business from Syracuse University and a SCP certification from the Society for Human Resources Management. Kate is a member of Rotary International and serves as the Public Relations Chair for the Kennebunkport club. She and her husband reside in Kennebunkport. You can contact Kate at [email protected] . 
McKayla Marois, Policy Intern

McKayla Marois is a student intern in her final semester of college at the University of Maine at Farmington. She is completing a self-designed major, Inclusive Educational Policy, with a concentration in Leadership and the Creative Arts. Marois' interest in education started as a young girl, and her passion to make changes in the education system stemmed from her individualized experiences in the field of education as a student, pre-service educator, and a behavioral health professional. At UMF, Marois is a Senior Admissions Fellow, Financial Literacy Peer Educator, and a student intern for both the Diversity and Inclusion Action Team (DIAT) as well as the Partnership for Civic Engagement project. Her interests in policy change center around intellectual inclusion, diversity and economic equality for all learners of all ages as well as the impact of standardized testing on intellectual diversity in the classroom and the workforce. You can reach McKayla at  [email protected] .
Have you nominated a 2020 Maine County Teacher? The deadline is Feb. 3, 2020 at 5:00pm.

Whether you're a student who has learned from a great teacher, a colleague, a parent, or an interested member of the community, here's your chance to recognize an exemplary Maine teacher. 

You can submit your nomination here.  

For Joe Hennessey, the final "official duty" as 2019 Maine Teacher of the Year, was attending the College Football Championship game in New Orleans. Joe and his 2019 State Teacher of the Year cohort were guests of College Football Playoff Foundation and CCSSO. Joe made it to the big screen.



Heather Whitaker, 2020 Maine Teacher of the Year, attended Governor Janet Mills' first State of the State address on January 21. A great way to kick off Heather's year of recognition!



Aquaculture me! An initiative started by Morgan Cuthbert, 2016 Cumberland County Teacher of
the Year, to get classroom teachers connected to the science and industry of aquaculture recently held a professional learning conference at the University of Maine Darling MarineCenter. This conference, and one more to be scheduled later in 2020, is made possible through a grant from Maine SeaGrant. Aquaculture me brings together current researchers, educators and business experts to discuss the best methods to bring aquaculture into Maine classrooms.  Educate Maine is proud to be a partner.
Thanks to the support of the Davis Family Foundation, Project>Login, CSforLPS, and CSforAll launched SCRIPT workshops in 2019 to support Maine school districts to expand computer science through a series of joint visioning, self-assessment, and goal-setting exercises. The first workshop of 2020 was held January 22-23rd at South Portland High School with teams from seven Maine districts. Please email Angela Oechslie at [email protected] if you would like to participate in future SCRIPT workshops.
           
Do you want to bring computer science to your middle or high school? Through a partnership with Code.org and Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance, Project>Login can help middle and high school teachers learn how to teach computer science. Learn more about the program  here.  For more information contact Angela Oechslie at  [email protected]
The Theta ELE Class visited employers in the Brunswick/Bath region during the January session. Participants went on behind the scenes tours of Bath Iron Works , TechPlace , and Flight Deck Brewing and learned about shipbuilding, entrepreneurship, and craft brewing. In addition, Nate Wildes from Live and Work in Maine discussed the importance of workforce attraction.
 
The Theta Class at Bath Iron Works. They are hiring! Apply here . 

We are accepting applications for the 2020/2021 ELE Iota Class! You can apply  here.  Please complete your application by  May 1. The class fills up quickly. Class size is limited to 30.

Theta Class Upcoming Session
Mock Legislative Day, February 7th
ELE will join Leadership Maine in Augusta!



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