In Today’s News

Karen MacDonald on Proficiency Based Education

“I recently retired from the classroom after 37 years of teaching. At the middle school where I taught, we transitioned to a proficiency-based model during the last few years of my career. That change was a consequence of our decision to separate the reporting of academic learning from the reporting of work habits and share this more honest information with parents and students. The change was also about being very explicit about the important learning at each grade level and how we would effectively teach and assess that learning. Finally, we made the shift to provide students and parents with clear guidelines for demonstrating proficiency in a specific area”.

The article was published in the Maine Press Herald, March 29. Read the entire article HERE. Be sure and read the comments as well.

In Today’s News

Retired art teacher Katy Helman

Katy retired from Deer Isle-Stonington High School after 18 years in 2016. What’s she doing now?

Canvases, some still wet with paint, line the walls, the walkway and nearly every flat surface. Big paint tubes are bunched together. Jars full of brushes are nearby.

“I just sort of slather it on,” Helman said. She paints on canvas but won’t pass up a good piece of cardboard. “I’m a very casual applicant of whatever material I’m using. I’m not a precision person. I like to think with my hands.”

Read the entire article in the March 30th Ellsworth American newspaper written by Jennifer Osborn by CLICKING HERE.

 

Many know Helman as the former and beloved Deer Isle-Stonington High School art teacher. She retired after 18 years in 2016.

 

https://www.ellsworthamerican.com/living/arts-a-living/retired-art-teacher-rediscovers-revels-in-paint/

Assessment Literacy Conference

University of Southern Maine 

#Assessment Literacy Conference: High-impact Teaching Strategies, Quality Summative Evidence, and Grading Practices

Presented by the Southern Maine Partnership – School of Education and Human Development

May 7-8, 2018

8:30 – 3:30, Abromson Hall, USM, Portland

REGISTRATION

The purpose of this year’s two-day conference is to strengthen the balance of our classroom assessment and assessment systems to support student growth in a standards-based education system. The conference will provide multiple workshops on high-impact teaching strategies that promote learning in the classroom, high-quality summative evidence of progress and proficiency, and high-quality grading practices that accurately measure learning while nurturing growth mindset.

Two major invited presenters will address a balanced approach to assessment. There will be keynote presentations and workshops by Ken O’Connor, author of How to Grading for Learning and A Repair Kit for Grading: 15 Fixes for Broken Grades and Jan Chappuis, author of Seven Strategies of Assessment for Learning and Classroom Assessment for Student Learning.

Presenters from Maine school districts and organizations will focus on high-impact strategies; assessment for learning and leading; school district implementation of assessment for learning modules; effective scoring, reporting, and communicating student learning; teacher evaluation; and STEAMS.

Cost: $225 for full conference, including materials, lunches, and snacks; $125 for 1 day; $175/person for full conference for teams of 5+.

REGISTRATION