Maine
To improve teacher workforce, report says Maine needs better pathways
Margaret Ruff, a second grade teacher at Hollis Elementary School, staples letters to a bulletin board outside her classroom as she prepares for the start of the 2023 school year. Ruff was hoping teachers’ wages go up so she can afford to teach for the long term. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer
Maine needs to improve its teacher certification processes and invest in career pathways to grow and strengthen its educator workforce, according to a new report from an education nonprofit done in collaboration with the Maine Department of Education.
Maine, like most states, has struggled to fully staff its schools. Last spring the state estimated it would have widespread shortages for the 2024-25 school year, and allowed emergency hiring for teachers in many subjects, including health, special education, computer science, music, social studies, early childhood, art, English, English as a second language, science and math.
Educate Maine, a nonprofit that advocates for education policies, released a report this week after working with the state to develop the Teach Maine Center, a hub for teachers with the goal of advancing the profession in the state. The purpose of the report was to learn how teachers think Maine could grow and sustain its educator workforce, a first step in setting up the center.
Educate Maine and the Maine DOE organized forums in every county between October 2023 and May 2024, where teachers answered questions about how to improve recruitment, support and advancement in their field. About 250 teachers from more than 100 districts participated.
The report offers seven recommendations to improve Maine’s teacher workforce, ranging from financial support to legislative advocacy:
• The first is to reduce barriers, like time commitment and costs, in the teacher certification process. The report says accepting out-of-state certifications, counting work experience toward certification requirements, and adding one-on-one coaching, better customer service and financial support could all ease barriers. In a related recommendation, it suggests expanding or creating undergraduate scholarships, loan forgiveness and paying student teachers to encourage people to come into the field. “As a second career it becomes ‘pay to play’ – you have to have money to do the courses and student teach,” an unnamed Cumberland County teacher said during a forum.
• It also suggests creating apprenticeships and accelerated programs for educational technicians or substitutes to become teachers.
• The report proposes developing more ways for teachers to connect to each other through workshops, physical hubs and mentorships.
• And suggests that investment in non-teaching positions like ed techs, substitutes and bus drivers would enrich the overall school ecosystem.
• The final three recommendations are for more public celebration of the work teachers do, adding opportunities for growth or leadership within the profession and improved advocacy skills.
The report says the nature of public education is changing because of forces like politics and social media, and that many teachers say the cost-benefit analysis of becoming a teacher just doesn’t make sense anymore.
“The time, financial costs, and opportunity costs (e.g. forgoing paid work while student teaching) of becoming a teacher are very high for what is a very low salary compared to other professional occupations,” the report reads. “The work is meaningful with many benefits, but high costs to obtain credentials when salaries are not keeping up with the cost of living turns people away from even considering the profession.”
The report concludes by saying that Maine’s policy will need to change to improve its recruitment and retention of educators.
“We heard over and over again: increase teacher pay, eliminate the Windfall Elimination provision (social security offset penalization), pay student teachers, create more pathways into the profession, and build more housing,” it reads.
A pedestrian has died following a crash in a gas station parking lot in Waterville, Maine, late Sunday morning.
The Waterville Police Department says it responded around 11:20 a.m. to a fatal motor vehicle crash in the parking lot of The Big Apple Convenience Store, located at 364 Upper Main Street.
An initial investigation shows a vehicle was traveling east on Main Street when it left the roadway and struck another vehicle that was parked at a gas pump, police said. A pedestrian who was in the parking lot at the time was struck and pronounced dead at the scene.
The City of Waterville announced on Facebook around 1:18 p.m. that Main Street was closed between Waterville Commons Drive and Armory Road as police managed a crash scene. People were urged to avoid the area and seek an alternate route.
The eastbound section of Main Street remained shutdown for several hours, as Maine State Police responded to the scene to assist with crash reconstruction.
Waterville police said in an update at 4 p.m. that the road had reopened.
The names of those involved in the deadly crash are not being released at this time. It’s unclear what caused this incident, and police haven’t said if anyone will face charges.
An investigation is ongoing.
Content on this page may include affiliate links. If you click and sign up/place a wager, we may receive compensation at no cost to you.
The operator of one of Maine’s commercial physical gaming establishments is trying to convince a federal court to vacate the law on constitutional grounds.
The expansion of online gaming in Maine under the control of tribal authorities within the state is facing a federal court challenge brought by the proprietors of the Oxford Casino Hotel in Oxford. The lawsuit argues that the state violated the United States and Maine constitutions when it approved a law that gives tribal authorities within the state the exclusive right to offer iGaming platforms to residents and visitors.
If you’re in a legal online casino state, claim 1,000 bonus spins on Triple Cash Eruption at Fanatics Casino when you click here:
Oxford Casino Hotel says iGaming law amounts to discrimination
According to Reuben M. Schafir and Morgan Womack of the Portland Press Herald, the federal complaint from the Oxford Casino Hotel argues that the new law contains a “race-based preference” that violates the Equal Protection Clause of both constitutions. The Oxford Casino Hotel is one of two land-based facilities in Maine offering casino-style games to bettors.
The new law represents an expansion of the current system that allows for online sports wagering in Maine under tribal auspices. Under the statute’s tenets, tribal bodies could build relationships with some of the best online casino operators in the US.
There is no official timeline for when licensed platforms with online casino games for real money could launch in Maine. If this lawsuit finds some success, it could prevent that implementation or delay it.
Get up to $1,000 in First Day Replay credit plus 500 bonus spins at DraftKings Casino as soon as you tap here:
Lawsuit could derail iGaming rollout out in Maine
The Oxford Casino Hotel’s lawsuit asks the court to overturn the statute currently enabling regulators in Maine to move forward in drafting rules for the gaming vertical. A court order to that effect could stymie the development of stipulations for casino bonus codes in Maine, even if just temporarily.
The Maine Gambling Control Unit must finalize regulations before apps can be licensed, and licensure is necessary for Maine residents to be able to play the best slots to play online for real money in the state legally. This litigation could also delay agreements between iGaming operators and tribal authorities.
Tribal bodies currently have agreements for legal online sports wagering with Caesars and DraftKings. It isn’t a foregone conclusion, though, that people in Maine will get access to deals like the Caesars Palace Online Casino promo code. They may also be able to play at Visa casinos depending on the final rules drafted.
Caesars Palace Online Casino offers a $10 sign-up credit plus up to $1,000 in credit as an 100% match of your first deposit when you use the promo code SPORTSLINE2500:
An uncertain future for the current framework for legal iGaming in Maine might make operators hesitant to negotiate deals. Everyone involved in gaming in Maine will be watching this lawsuit as it moves forward.
Nothing couldn’t wait to show off the Phone 4A
North Korea’s Kim Jong Un re-elected as ruling party leader
Trump envoy rebukes Greenland leader for rejecting hospital ship proposal
Blood test could predict when Alzheimer’s symptoms will start years in advance
Team USA hockey stars keep America’s heroes top of mind after grabbing Olympic gold
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Indiana Members Credit Union announced as new anchor tenant at Bottleworks District
Trump envoy rebukes Greenland leader for rejecting hospital ship proposal
Gulf countries back Kuwait’s sovereignty after Iraq draws new boundaries
Suspected gunman identified after being shot dead at Mar-a-Lago – US politics live
Video: Armed Man Is Shot and Killed at Mar-a-Lago, Authorities Say
Suspect identified after fatal shooting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate: officials
-
Montana3 days ago2026 MHSA Montana Wrestling State Championship Brackets And Results – FloWrestling
-
Oklahoma5 days agoWildfires rage in Oklahoma as thousands urged to evacuate a small city
-
Culture1 week agoVideo: How Much Do You Know About Romance Books?
-
Science1 week agoWhat a Speech Reveals About Trump’s Plans for Nuclear Weapons
-
Politics1 week agoSchumer’s ‘E. coli’ burger photo resurfaces after another Dem’s grilling skills get torched: ‘What is that?’
-
Technology2 days agoYouTube TV billing scam emails are hitting inboxes
-
Technology1 week agoThe DJI Romo robovac had security so poor, this man remotely accessed thousands of them
-
Science1 week agoNotoriously hazardous South L.A. oil wells finally plugged after decades of community pressure