News Brief
Feds Grant Maine No Child Left Behind Waiver
Maine Public Broadcasting Network (08/12/13) Shortall, KeithThe U.S. Education Department has granted Maine a No Child Left Behind waiver to give school districts across the state greater flexibility in meeting the law's requirements and avoid penalties. "I think it's going provide us a lot more flexibility, it's going to allow us to focus on the schools that really need the help," says Maine Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen. He says the state has opted for a customized growth model based on the historic performance of each school in the state. "So we look at where the school is, we lay out a track for them to cut in half the percent of students that are not meeting the standards over the next six years, so it puts everybody on a little bit of a more ... aggressive but achievable ... rate of improvement, targeted improvement, over time," he explains. In Maine, 67 percent of elementary school students and 48 percent of high school students have achieved proficiency in math and reading. The state will create a list of schools by category, which will be published in September, and identify about 20 so-called "priority" schools in need of additional help. Full implementation of teacher evaluation systems will occur by 2015, and Bowen's department will help local districts develop the systems.
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