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Full-Text Articles in Education Policy
School District Reorganization In Maine: Lessons Learned For Policy And Process, Janet C. Fairman, Christine Donis-Keller
School District Reorganization In Maine: Lessons Learned For Policy And Process, Janet C. Fairman, Christine Donis-Keller
Maine Policy Review
In 2007, Maine’s legislature enacted a law mandating school district consolidation with the goal of reducing the state’s 290 districts to approximately 80. Five years later the success of this policy is open to debate. Janet Fairman and Christine Donis-Keller examine what worked and what didn’t work in this effort to consolidate school districts and provide a list of “lessons learned,” with clear implications for the design and implementation of state educational policy.
Improving Maine’S Future Through Education: Overcoming Challenges And Learning To “Row” Together, Linda Silka, Karen Hutchins, Meredith Jones, Chris Rector
Improving Maine’S Future Through Education: Overcoming Challenges And Learning To “Row” Together, Linda Silka, Karen Hutchins, Meredith Jones, Chris Rector
Maine Policy Review
Although people agree that education is a crucial ingredient in the mix of factors that will improve Maine’s economic prospects, we often come at the problem from different angles and develop different methods to improve educational outcomes. In this article, Linda Silka, Karen Hutchins, Meredith Jones, and Chris Rector assert that progress in securing a bright future for Maine requires working together across disciplines and areas of expertise to support education. The authors present nine recommendations for strengthening Maine’s educational systems.
Investing In Human Capital In Difficult Times: Maine’S Competitive Skills Scholarship Program, Sandra S. Butler, Luisa S. Deprez, John Dorrer, Auta M. Main
Investing In Human Capital In Difficult Times: Maine’S Competitive Skills Scholarship Program, Sandra S. Butler, Luisa S. Deprez, John Dorrer, Auta M. Main
Maine Policy Review
The authors describe how the Competitive Skills Scholarship Program, administered by the Maine Department of Labor, aims both to meet the needs of Maine employers through improved access to a skilled labor force and to improve job prospects for low-income Mainers by providing access to education, training, and support. They note that many currently unemployed workers do not have the skills or experience to take advantage of the new job opportunities that are likely to arise, and that there is a demonstrated correlation between higher levels of education and training and both higher income and reduced unemployment. Preliminary data suggest …
The Dynamics Of Investments In Young Children, Philip A. Trostel
The Dynamics Of Investments In Young Children, Philip A. Trostel
Maine Policy Review
Philip Trostel presents compelling evidence of the importance of early investment in young children, citing research demonstrating the economic and social benefits of such investments. He suggests that the lack of understanding of the cause-and-effect relationship between early childhood experiences and later-life consequences and a failure to conceptualize how things might be done in new ways are both obstacles. Trostel argues that investing in early childhood development benefits children for the rest of their lives, benefits government with reduced spending in other areas, and moreover is the “right thing to do.”
Interdepartmental Coordination For Maine’S Young Children With Disabilities, Alan B. Cobo-Lewis
Interdepartmental Coordination For Maine’S Young Children With Disabilities, Alan B. Cobo-Lewis
Maine Policy Review
Alan B. Cobo-Lewis describes Maine’s system of services for young children with disabilities. He notes that families of young children with disabilities face challenges in navigating Maine’s service structure. There can be delays before children get appropriate evaluation, and there are sometimes problems with inter-agency referrals. Cobo-Lewis makes a number of recommendations regarding data linkage; coordination of eligibility determination from different funding streams; updating inter-agency agreements; and creation of a more efficient state departmental structure for services to children with disabilities
You Don’T Always Get What You Want: Lessons To Be Learned From The Demise Of Maine’S Local Assessment System, Rebecca H. Berger
You Don’T Always Get What You Want: Lessons To Be Learned From The Demise Of Maine’S Local Assessment System, Rebecca H. Berger
Maine Policy Review
The recent repeal of Maine’s local education assessment requirement was met with mixed reactions ranging from relief to outrage. That there were such differing responses points to the fact that “assessment” in education is understood in diverse and sometimes contradictory ways. In this article, Rebecca Berger looks retrospectively at how the problems associated with implementing Maine’s local assessment system (LAS) were caused by a lack of understanding of important aspects of assessment as it relates to standards-based reform in education. Using examples from her case study of one Maine school district, Berger notes three areas of ongoing concern: lack of …
Loan Forgiveness And Repayment: Can They Increase Education Attainment In Maine?, Catherine Reilly
Loan Forgiveness And Repayment: Can They Increase Education Attainment In Maine?, Catherine Reilly
Maine Policy Review
Maine’s level of higher education attainment has remained stubbornly low despite substantial efforts to improve the access to and availability of higher education options. Maine’s state economist, Catherine Reilly, examines the pros and cons of two perhaps underutilized policy tools for increasing Maine’s higher education attainment level—loan forgiveness and loan repayment. The design and marketing of such programs are critical, and would have to be done carefully. Reilly notes, however, that loan forgiveness and repayment are unique policy tools because they create incentives for students to live and work in the state after graduation.
School Size Choices: Comparing Small And Large School Strengths, Janet C. Fairman
School Size Choices: Comparing Small And Large School Strengths, Janet C. Fairman
Maine Policy Review
Janet Fairman discusses the thorny issue of school quality, suggesting that small schools have certain strengths compared to larger schools. Data from her study of small high schools in Maine, as well as research literature, suggest that compared to large schools, small schools allow for greater personal attention to students, have greater flexibility in scheduling, programming and instructional decisions, and often have stronger school-community connections that support student achievement and serve important community needs. Using quantitative measures of quality, Fairman notes that school size alone explains very little of the variation in 11th grade Maine Educational Assessment (MEA) scores, while …
Learning And Earning In Vacationland: Promoting Education And Economic Opportunity In Maine, Anthony Carnevale, Donna M. Desrochers
Learning And Earning In Vacationland: Promoting Education And Economic Opportunity In Maine, Anthony Carnevale, Donna M. Desrochers
Maine Policy Review
Technological innovation, globalization and other economic forces together shape the structure of jobs and the way we work. Such forces have gained momentum over the last 40 years with the advent of a new economy that is increasingly reliant on skilled workers with a postsecondary education. This trend is evident in all sectors of Maine’s economy. In this article, Carnevale and Desrochers show where the jobs are in Maine and how the education attainment of those who hold such jobs has changed over the last 40 years. They look at where jobs will be in the future and the skills …
Economic Prosperity In Maine: Held Back By The Lack Of Higher Education, Philip A. Trostel
Economic Prosperity In Maine: Held Back By The Lack Of Higher Education, Philip A. Trostel
Maine Policy Review
Maine lags the nation in economic prosperity and in education attainment, and there is little doubt that the relative lack of higher education in Maine is a leading factor. In this article, Trostel looks at each of the three sources of Maine’s relatively low education attainment: the net emigration of college graduates (who are presumably in search of employment opportunities elsewhere); relatively fewer students going on to college; and the net emigration of high-school graduates leaving Maine to attend out-of-state postsecondary schools. While all three factors have happened in Maine to some extent, the net emigration of the state’s high-school …
Barriers To Postsecondary Education In Maine: Making College The Obvious And Attainable Next Step For More Maine Students, Colleen J. Quint, Lisa Plimpton
Barriers To Postsecondary Education In Maine: Making College The Obvious And Attainable Next Step For More Maine Students, Colleen J. Quint, Lisa Plimpton
Maine Policy Review
The question of why more high school students do not go on to college has been the focus of recent research at the Mitchell Institute. Quint and Plimpton summarize this research, which involved more than 2,500 Maine students, educators and parents. They find that financial barriers are only one piece of a complicated puzzle. Other barriers include parental attitudes, whether any family members have attended college, the high school experience (i.e., what track the student is placed in), the quality of career planning in school and at home, and the level of active planning for college (while many students say …
Income And The School Funding Formula: A Contrary View, Ralph Townsend
Income And The School Funding Formula: A Contrary View, Ralph Townsend
Maine Policy Review
School funding in Maine remains a controversial and complex issue. Economist Ralph Townsend provides one perspective on this issue in his commentary.
School Funding In Maine: The Case For Reform, Josephine M. Laplante
School Funding In Maine: The Case For Reform, Josephine M. Laplante
Maine Policy Review
Reform of Maine’s school funding law has been a vexing issue for educators and politicians alike. It continues to dominate the education issue agenda inAugusta and will be a major focus of attention by the 117th State Legislature. In this article, Josephine LaPlante examines two broad issue areas of educational funding reform that have been the source of much debate and contention: pupil equity and taxpayer equity. Among other things, she offers some alternatives for alleviating the most pressing problems associated with those issues.
Fusing Educational Reform Policy And Action: Assuring The Development Of Local Leaders, George F. Marnik, Gordon A. Donaldson Jr.
Fusing Educational Reform Policy And Action: Assuring The Development Of Local Leaders, George F. Marnik, Gordon A. Donaldson Jr.
Maine Policy Review
School change does not happen in a vacuum. It requires initiative and leadership. Because Maine's educational system features a strong local control component, successful educational change requires development of local leadership. George Marnik and Gordon Donaldson report on the Maine Academyfor School Leaders, an educational leadership development project in which they were involved. Among other things, the researchers learned that successful educational change is not likely to result from a one-size-fits-all state policy. Rather, successful reform occurs "one individual at a time, one school at a time."
Policy Issues In Maine School Finance Reform, Jean E. Lavigne, Patricia Hofmaster
Policy Issues In Maine School Finance Reform, Jean E. Lavigne, Patricia Hofmaster
Maine Policy Review
Jean Lavigne and Patricia Hofmaster assess Maine’s position relative to school finance reform and offer some suggestions for future action.