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PREPARING MAINE FOR THE FUTURE


Maine’s future depends on how well we prepare our people for the 21st century.  We have to equip all Mainers with the knowledge and skills they need for success in college, career, citizenship and life.   

Over the next decade, 90% of high-growth jobs will require education beyond high school.  Preparing for these new challenges means providing a quality education for all of our people, from early childhood through lifelong learning.


Specifically, Maine needs to ensure that:



  • All young children have access to quality programs that advance their development

  • All students graduate from high school prepared for college, career, citizenship and life

  • Many more Mainers complete a college degree or occupational certificate

AN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM THAT WORKS IN HARMONY


To understand the changes Maine needs to make to prepare for the future, it helps to think of the educational system as an orchestra.  Like an orchestra, it has many players with specialized jobs, such as school boards, taxpayers, families, teachers, principals and administrators.  The orchestra sounds best when each player is skilled, the instruments are well-tuned and the sections work together in harmony toward the common goal of playing the best music they can.

A changing economy has handed our orchestra new music to play, and we haven't gotten in sync yet to be ready to perform it. 

Luckily, there are successful models in Maine and throughout the country and the world to show us how our educational system can prepare all of our people for success.  Our system doesn’t need demolition, it just needs some remodeling.


REMODELING MAINE'S EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM


Around the state, the country and the world, people are working together to remodel their educational systems to prepare the next generation for the challenges ahead. Best practices emphasize seven priorities.


1.


Quality Early Learning Experiences
The early years matter because early experiences affect the maturing brain’s architecture, establishing either a sturdy or a fragile foundation for later development and behavior.  We can maximize children’s development at a lower cost if we invest in quality programs that promote cognitive, physical, social and emotional development, and limit excessive, toxic stress that can damage the architecture of our young children’s brains.
 Learn more.

2.


High Standards and Personalized Learning Opportunities
Research shows that students learn better when schools have high expectations, make students partners in learning and broaden conventional boundaries of time, space and talent.  When the location for learning is the larger community, when community resources focus on education, and when we use brain scientists’ research about learning, we maximize every resource on behalf of the wide diversity of learners in the system.
 Learn more.

3.


Effective, knowledgeable, well-trained teachers
Everyone knows a teacher who made a big difference in their lives.  Nothing does more to increase achievement than quality teaching and the professional development that fosters it.  Moreover, educational systems need strong leadership at all levels to keep the focus on learning for all students. 
  Learn more.

4.


Engagement of Parents and the Community
When parents and the entire community are engaged in defining and taking responsibility for excellence, student achievement increases.  High expectations at home and in the community raise young people’s expectations of themselves, and in turn raise attendance and achievement.   Learn more.

5.


Expanded Access to and Support for College and Workforce Training
Nothing raises incomes more than increasing the number of college degree and occupational certificate holders in the workforce.  Maine has the lowest incomes in New England because we have the lowest proportion of degree holders in our workforce. 

We can provide more Mainers the knowledge and skills they need for success by making college more affordable, giving people the supports they need in post-high school education and training and breaking those programs into smaller chunks that working adults can manage.   Learn more.

6.


Collection and Analysis of Reliable Data

The most successful educational systems gather data to measure their progress, identify problems and improve continuously.  From Head Start programs to high schools to our university and community college systems, we need to figure out what’s working, what isn’t and why.  Learn more.


7.


Efficient and Equitable Investment of Resources

Educational opportunity should be the same regardless of where families live.  We must make every part and level of our educational system more efficient, focusing resources on proven strategies that provide all learners with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed.  Learn more.


See a snapshot of how Maine’s educational system stacks up.

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