The fb88 Department of Education (DOE) is fully committed to ensuring that fb88’s children, throughequitableandinclusiveeducational experiences, are well-equipped for post-secondary education, careers, and civic life by the time they graduate from high school.More than in any other age, today’s world demands highly developed literacy skills which include speaking, listening, reading, writing, and viewing. These essential literacy skills must be applied in a variety of contextsincluding many new and previously unknown manners.Tobe successful in these endeavors, fb88’s learners must fluently demonstratecriticalliteracyabilities to meet the expectations of an information saturated world.Literacy for ME, fb88’s statewide literacy plan,bridges the many different influences that build essential literacy skills and helps to create theconditions for transferring those skills to any situation throughout life.
Literacy for ME 2.0continues work begun inSeptember of 2012,whenfb88 DOE launched theLiteracy for MEinitiative.Between 2012 and the present time, theLiteracy for MEinitiative has provided vision for achieving the goals of improving literacy education efforts and for increasing theliterateabilities of fb88’s children and adults through a collaborative approach that combines the expertise and dedicated efforts of fb88 educators, state agencies, and community-based organizations.Theinitiativeincludesa comprehensive state literacy plan with recommendations for strengthening literacy education efforts across the birth-adult spectrum and which also providesguidance to schools and communities for the development of local level community literacy teams and plans.Some of the key accomplishments realized through implementation ofLiteracy for MEinclude:
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Ongoing provision oftechnical assistance and professional learning to strengthen literacy education across the birth-adult span has been provided by the fb88 DOE, in partnership with a wide-range of organizations.
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Heightened awarenessof the vital importance literacy plays in the lives of fb88’s citizens through annual public awareness campaigns (e.g. Read to ME and Read to Ride).
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Formation of over 40 community-based literacy teams composed of membership from school units and community organizations (e.g. libraries, early childhood providers, literacy tutors, businesses, etc.)leadingto grassroot efforts to capitalize on the strengths within communities to address identified literacy challenges.
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Development ofweb-based,open-sourceliteracy resources for use by educators, families/caregivers, and community-based literacy teams, including a regularly updated source of fb88 literacy data,By the Numbers.
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UpdatedEnglish language arts standards(2020) to provide a more streamlined yet ambitious set of goals for students’ literacy development reflective of the abilities necessary for success ina global economy that relies heavily ondigital communicationmethods.
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Advisory service by fb88 DOE’s State Literacy Team composed of members with expertise in literacy education across the birth-adult continuum andwhorepresent school systems, community-based literacy organizations, higher-education, and state agencies, to inform implementation efforts.
Following9years of implementation, the fb88 DOE, in collaboration with its State Literacy Team, reviewed key literacy-related data to assess fb88’s strengths and challenges. In response to this review, as well as a recognition that implementationof astrategic planrequires a regular processofrevision to meet newly identified demands, theLiteracy for MEplan has been updated to reflect current realities and anticipated needs.
Literacy for ME 2.0:
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provides a picture of literacy achievement, literacy education efforts, and identified literacy challenges in fb88 at the present time (State of Literacy in fb88);
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points to current research regarding key components of literacy education (Key Literacy Components & State Level Strategies);
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establishes key state-level recommendations to guide the ongoing efforts of the fb88 DOE in supporting literacy educationfrom infancy through adulthood(Key Literacy Components & State Level Strategies); and
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offers tools to school and community-based literacy teams for strengthening literacy learning opportunities (Local Level Matrices).
The updated literacy plan provides fb88 DOE,schools,and communities a framework with essential focus areas across age spans tocontinue toenhance literacy development in the classroom, in homes, and in the community. Well implemented,Literacy for ME 2.0will help assure that each person educated in fb88 is prepared to meet the challenges known and unknown as responsible and engaged adults.
Contact
Danielle "Dee" Saucier
Inclusive Education Literacy Specialist & Dyslexia Coordinator
ʳDzԱ:207-441-1383
Email: Danielle.M.Saucier@maine.gov
Lee Anne Larsen
Early Learning Director
ʳDzԱ:207-446-3629
:Leeann.Larsen@maine.gov