State Profile For Maine

Data sources used in this profile (MSWord,54Kb)

State Director

Ms. Lora S. Downing, CTE Coordinator, Curriculum Development
Maine Department of Education
23 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333

CTE Web Site(s) as Applicable

Secondary: http://www.maine.gov/education/it/index.shtml

Mission

Secondary level – Mission Statement The mission of Career and Technical Education, as part of the educational system in Maine, is to ensure that students acquire the high-quality technical skills that will prepare them for post-secondary education and entry into an ever-changing workplace and society and meet the rigorous academic standards of Maine’s Learning Results.

Our Vision The learning and development needs of students govern educational decisions. All students benefit from an integrated system of academic and applied learning, based on rigorous expectations and standards, throughout their school experience. All students and teachers place the highest priority on students’ attainment of literacy at levels that will serve them throughout their lives as productive citizens and lifelong learners. Rigorous data analysis drives educational decisions and resource allocation and contributes to continuous improvement.

Postsecondary level – MCCS Guiding Principles MCCS Mission The basic mission of the Maine Community College System is to provide associate degree, diploma and certificate programs directed at the educational, occupational and technical needs of the State’s citizens and the workforce needs of the State’s employers. The primary goals of…the Maine Community College System are to create an educated, skilled and adaptable labor force which is responsive to the changing needs of the economy of the State and to promote local, regional and statewide economic development. (Public Law, Chapter 431) MCCS Vision Maine’s Community Colleges are dedicated to educating today’s students for tomorrow’s career opportunities in an environment that supports personal and professional growth, innovation, and lifelong learning. The colleges are committed to enhancing the quality of life and economic prosperity of Maine through excellence in education.

Statement of Core Services and Attributes · Prepares a well-educated person, one who has the knowledge, skills and values to lead a thoughtful, creative and productive life; who seeks self-knowledge and understanding of others and the world; is a lifelong learner; is actively engaged in the community and civic life; and shows tolerance and respect for cultural, ethnic and intellectual diversity; · Awards associate degrees, certificates and diplomas; · Offers programs that prepare students for occupations with career progression and/or transfer opportunities for the baccalaureate level; · Offers liberal arts transfer programs, providing the core liberal arts foundation required for most baccalaureate programs and associate degree career programs; · Focuses primarily on regional needs, with a commitment to serving and supporting its local communities; · Offers business & industry training and services, providing customized training and upgrading, at a place and time convenient for employees and employers; · Is low cost, to assure broad access to college; · Is easily accessible to a diverse population, offering on-site and off-site day, evening and weekend courses with significant opportunity to pursue a degree part time; · Provides access to students who can benefit from its educational offerings through modified open admission policies. Applicants must possess a high school diploma or GED and meet program of study prerequisite requirements; · Provides effective student support services such as academic assessment, counseling, remediation, and career placement; · Provides opportunities for lifelong learning to support professional and personal growth, through a diverse array of credit and noncredit courses, workshops and seminars; · Actively pursues a diverse learning community in which cultural, ethnic and intellectual diversity are respected and embraced; · Provides a learner-centered environment, in which teaching and learning are the primary focus of the institution; · Is a partner and facilitator in regional economic development, providing training to support the creation of high-wage, high-skill jobs in new and established industries; · Develops students with awareness of global issues; · Offers co-curricular opportunities, including clubs, student activities, sports and leadership opportunities; · Is committed to community building, serving as facilitator/community resource for bringing people and groups with a common interest together to address local issues; · Serves as a resource for the college and the public, offering cultural and special events; and · Partners with other local and state providers in workforce development.

CTE Statistics

Number of Public High Schools:	112
Number of Public High Schools Offering Solely (or primarily) CTE courses:	27
Number of Students in Public High Schools:	60,551
Number of Secondary Students Enrolled in CTE:	8,902
Number of Public Community Colleges:	7
Number of Students at Public Community Colleges:	11,480
Number of Postsecondary Students Enrolled in CTE:	36,934
Perkins Funds Received:	$6,366,949

CTE Governance Structure

Perkins Eligible Agency:	Department of Education
Agency Administering Secondary CTE:	Department of Education
Agency Administering Postsecondary CTE:	Maine Community College System (MCCS) Board of Trustees
Programmatic Control For Secondary CTE:	State Board of Education
Programmatic Control For Postsecondary CTE:	MCCS Board of Trustees

CTE Funding

State Secondary Funding:
State Postsecondary Funding:
Local Secondary Funding:
Local Postsecondary Funding:

State Director Roles and Responsibilities

The State Director has the title of State Director of Career and Technical Education. The Director’s position is a career position that reports to the Federal Programs and Services Team leader. The Director’s primary areas of responsibility are Perkins grant Management – federal, state, local Program approval School site Review Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment – which includes the technical and the academic integration of academics with CTE Professional Development High School reform work as it pertains to CTE and partnerships among CTE schools and high schools Business partnerships Liaison to the Department of Labor and the Maine Jobs Council (Commissioner’s Designee) Supervision of 9 consultants and 4 support staff.

Main has Co-Coordinators of CTE (a new development as of June 2008); Lora S. Downing and Margaret Harvey.

CTE Connections to Secondary Education and High School Reform

Career technical education plays a very high role in high school reform efforts. Maine is involved in a CTE and high school transformation effort. The state has just received one of the National Governor’s Association grants for high school reform and CTE is a component in that grant. Maine, also, has been chosen as one of the ten states in the Gates/Successful Schools Network. This is a multi-year project working with the International Center for Leadership in Education and focuses on CTE/high school integration. The CTE state director is part of the Maine Department of Education’s Secondary Collaborative which looks at coordination of programs and projects related to high schools. It also seeks to break down the silos that exist in the department.

Implementation of Career Clusters

Maine believes that Career Clusters provide the infrastructure for a seamless educational transition between all learner levels and give students a method to help organize their sequences of courses.
In order to effectively implement Career Clusters, Maine has integrated them into the state plan and adopted a strategic vision paper that also supports Career Clusters. Maine has also adopted strategies to support implementation of Career Clusters. For example, Maine requires accountability information to be collected by Career Clusters.
Finally, Maine is using high school reform as a delivery method to support the implementation of Career Clusters.

Indicators

The data for 2003-2004 in the above chart was taken directly from the Consolidated Annual Reports (CAR Report 2003-04). The CAR is a mandatory fiscal and accountability report submitted by each state to the U.S. Department of Education. It provides performance information on 14 Perkins indicators. A red X means a state did not meet its adjusted level of performance and a green checkmark means that the state did meet its goal.A blue bar in the Secondary Indicators table means that the state does not offer students the opportunity to earn both a high school diploma and other credential (e.g., a skill certificate) or that the data was not otherwise provided by the state. A blue bar in the Postsecondary Indicators table indicates that the state did not provide data.

The data for 2004-2005 was taken from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education, Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998, Report to Congress on State Performance, Program Year 2004-05, Washington, D.C., 2007.

Perkins eligible agency: Department of Education

Last updated on 09/23/2008