Spring News

Maine ASCD News
April 2008

Exciting New Professional Development Opportunities

Maine ASCD has two new professional development activities coming this spring. Beginning in a few weeks, a new on-line Moodle course is being offered. "What the Heck is a Professional Learning Community (PLC) Anyway?" will be taught by Acton Elementary School's principal, Kyle Rhoads. The on-line course which will mix readings, on-line discussion groups and listserv activities all provided through the Maine ASCD Moodle board, will begin on or about April 21st and run until late August. Several “breaks” will be built into the course. A complete program description and registration materials may be found on our website:
http://www.maineascd.org/moodle-plc

Coming back to Maine in early May, Pam Robbins will be presenting, "Promoting School and Student Success: Promising Practices" at the Elks Conference Center in Waterville. Pam has many fans here in Maine and is always a great presenter. This event - on May 8th - will provide practical strategies to promote staff and student learning, healthy, collaborative learning cultures and school success. Designed for both teachers and administrators, this program will include techniques to re-energize faculties and add vitality to school improvement efforts. Participants will leave the session having experienced the strategies and equipped with tools that can be implemented immediately in their contexts. A complete program description and registration materials may be found on our website:
http://www.maineascd.org/05022008

Journal of Maine Education Published

The 24th annual issue of the Jounal of Maine Education (JME) has been published and mailed to current members. The theme of this issue, Challenges and Opportunities of Technology's Role in Schools, is both timely and informative. To get the whole issue one needs to be a current Maine ASCD member, however we have provided a bit of a teaser and have published one of the great articles online. "Racing to Catch Up: Preparing School Staff for Teaching in Today’s Learning Environment" by Dave Fournier is available on our website: http://www.maineascd.org/node/40

A complete description of the 2008 JME may be found here: http://www.maineascd.org/jme

Jim Burke's "Tools of Thought" Well Received

Despite the less than spring-like weather, the audience of 60+ educators raved about Jim Burke's presentation last week in Portland. Being a classroom teacher, Jim's presentation provided highly valuable and pertinet advice and methods for engaging students and increasing thinking skills and literacy. He detailed methods for the teaching of literature and writing using constructive and instructive approaches that the participants found highly valuable. Many have asked for Jim to come back - something Maine ASCD is considering.

Maine ASCD Voucher Accounts

With budgets - and budget cuts - on everyone's mind, one of the best way to stretch your professional development dollars is with a Maine ASCD Voucher account. Working just like your bank debit card you may deposit any sum (minimum $100) in the Voucher Account today and use the account to pay for activities over the next 12 months. The next time you want to attend a conference or workshop, simply check off "Voucher Account" and you're done. No purchase orders to fill-out, checks to write, envelopes to stamp. In fact, you can register over the phone or via e-mail using your account number. Maine ASCD Voucher accounts opened between now and June 30th will enjoy a 10% discount. Complete details on our website: http://www.maineascd.org/voucher