From the Desk of the Director

Welcome to New Programs and New Possibilities at UMF!

Exciting things are happening in professional development in western and central Maine!

UMF’S NEW MASTER OF SCIENCE IN EDUCATION DEGREE

It is with great excitement that we are able to officially announce that UMF’s new Master of Science in Education (M.S.Ed.) for practicing educators has received all approvals and is now accepting applications for admission to the program, which will begin classes in Summer 2008. The program is designed for educators who will have had at least two years of teaching experience by the time they enter the program and who wish to become leaders in their classrooms, buildings, school districts, or other educational institutions.

 This degree program is offered in direct response to needs for a master’s degree in western and central Maine expressed by the teachers and administrators in our region. 

PROGRAM INFORMATION AND APPLICATION MATERIALS.  Program Information, application materials, and instructions can be found on-line at http://masters.farmington.edu., or by clicking the link in the left hand column of this page   

To aid in the application process, and to answer specific questions, two face-to-face information sessions will be held on the UMF campus: 

Thursday, January 31 --  4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m., North Dining Hall-A, UMF Olsen Student Center                                    Wednesday, February 6 -- 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m., North Dining Hall-C, UMF Olsen Student Center

APPLICATION DEADLINE.  Applications for the first two cohorts, which will begin classes in Summer 2008, must be completed and received in the UMF Office of Educational Outreach by 4:00 p.m. on March 15, 2008.

THE PROGRAM.  UMF’s M.S.Ed. is a 36-credit degree program to be delivered in a face-to-face cohort format.  Participants are admitted into a cohort and complete the 24-credit core program with members of their cohort.  The remaining 12 graduate credits will be earned through elective courses in a concentration.

Concentrations.  Up to 12 graduate credits, taken within the last five (5) years and for which the applicant has received a minimum 3.0 grade, may be transferred into the program as part of a concentration with the approval of an advisor.  Concentrations in educational technology, administration (assistant principal), and literacy and literature will be offered. Some participants may, instead, choose to develop an individually-designed concentration. In the application process, participants must articulate in writing the ways in which the individually-designed concentration courses (up to 12 credits) work together to support the development of their vision of effective teacher leadership.

Length of Degree Program.  The degree takes three years, including three summers, to complete.   

Please visit the UMF master’s degree website (click on link in column at the left) for more information and application instructions and forms.  To receive a mailed packet of these same materials or to receive answers to your specific questions, please call the UMF Office of Educational Outreach at 778-7502 or 778-7186.  You may also email us at umfmasters@maine.edu. 

CONTINUING COLLABORATION

In Support of Pre-K-12 Educators in Central and Western Maine three entities, that share a suite of offices in the new UMF Education Building, have expanded their collaboration over the past several months to bring more coordinated, quality professional development to you, the Pre-K-12 educators and administrators in western and central Maine. These groups are:

• The UMF Office of Educational Outreach, most familiar to you as the UMF office that provides credit courses, including Summer Institutes, for in-service educators;
• The Western and Central Maine Regional Teacher Development Center (RTDC), which began its work last year by providing coaching services and embedded course work to conditionally certified teachers and mentor training for district support systems;
• The Western Maine Partnership, which has for many years provided your districts and district leaders with quality professional development opportunities around critical issues in education.

TWO RETURNING PROGRAMS THIS ACADEMIC YEAR (2007-2008)

In response to requests from teachers and administrators in the region, the Office of Educational Outreach will continue to offer two new programs this academic year.

Assistant Principal Program
Through this program, teachers and others in the region are able to take the courses required by the State of Maine to receive their Assistant Principal Certification. During the 2007-2008 school year, we added the School Finance for Principals course (EDU 553).  This course, added to the three course that were already part of UMF's Assistant Building Administrator (Assistant Principal) program, makes it possible for educators to seek Building Administrator through MDOE, utilizing guidelines in Chapter 115 for Certificate Eligibility Pathway 2 (See page 59-60 of  Chapter 115 PART II: Requirements for Specific Certificates and Endorsements found at http://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/rules/05/071/071c1152.doc.) Through Certificate Eligibility Pathway 2, educators holding a master's degree who have worked for one year as an Assistant Principal are eligible for certification as a Building Administrator.

Special Education Alternate Route to Certification Program (SPARC)
This program offers 24 credits of special education on-line courses to meet the course requirements of the new State of Maine special education 282 certification requirements. The program will also provide face-to-face coaching by experienced special education professionals. This program is offered through a collaboration among the UMF Office of Educational Outreach, The Western/Central Maine Regional Teacher Development Center, the UMF Special Education Faculty, The Maine Support Network, and the Western Maine Partnership.

If you are interested in either of these programs, please contact me at the telephone number or e-mail listed below. We will put you on a list to receive more information as it becomes available.

A NEW WORLD: CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

Since the beginning of the Summer Institute program, one of its major purposes has been to address certification needs of educators in the region. With the changes in certification that went into affect August 1, 2005, many of those needs - especially for conditionally and targeted need certification -- have disappeared.

This means that Summer Institutes will begin to morph into something quite different, based upon the true professional development interests of you, the educators we are here to serve. I would eagerly welcome ideas from you - new course or travel course ideas, new ways of envisioning graduate course opportunities. We serve each other best when we make best use of two way communications. Let us hear from you.

A NEW INITIATIVE: GRADUATE COURSES AT YOUR SCHOOL SITE

And last, but by no means, least: The UMF Office of Educational Outreach has expanded our course offerings immensely by offering courses designed to meet the needs of specific school districts at local school sites. (We'll design the course with you.) As you know, true professional development works best when it meets the needs of a number of individuals in one district, a critical mass; such work addresses real needs and, because of the shared experience, curricular changes move faster.

If you, members of your professional development committee or your support system committee are interested in working with us to develop a course specifically to meet your needs, please contact me directly.

Welcome to a time of new possibilities!

Pamela L. Wilson

Director, UMF Office of Educational Outreach
Director, Regional Teacher Development Center
778-7186
pwilson@maine.edu