Press Releases
June 16, 2008
$200K Grant Awarded to Four Maine Public Schools
Innovative partnership will improve math and science instruction
The Maine Department of Education announced last week that it has awarded a three-year, $200,000 grant to the Southern Aroostook Math and Science Partnership, an innovative effort to improve math and science achievement in the region. The Partnership includes three public schools—East Grand School, Katahdin Middle/High School, and Southern Aroostook Community School—the Region Two School of Applied Technology in Houlton, the mathematics and science faculty of Northern Maine Community College, and the Great Schools Partnership. All six partners share the belief that math and science instruction in grades 6–12 must be improved to meet the demands of an increasingly knowledge-based, technology-driven global economy.
January 17, 2008
Report Shows Early College Opportunities Boost College-Going Rates
Dual enrollment a promising strategy for increasing student achievement and aspirations
A report issued by the Senator George J. Mitchell Scholarship Research Institute presents convincing evidence that investing in early college opportunities for high school students pays great dividends. The findings show that students who face barriers to higher education, but who take college classes while still in high school, go on to college at rates of 80%, compared with 60% of their peers. The study examined the experiences of nearly 700 students at multiple early college sites across the state. Nearly three-quarters of these students would be the first in their family to pursue a four-year degree, and more than half improved their high school GPA after participating in an early college program.
November 5, 2007
Mt. Abram to Participate in National Study on College Readiness
The school's exemplary college-ready programs attract the notice of national experts
Mt. Abram Regional High School has been selected to participate in the College Readiness Evaluation for Schools and Teachers (CREST), a landmark study to determine how some of the nation's most effective high schools prepare their students for college and careers. As only one of 30 schools in the country to be so honored, Mt. Abram was selected for its exemplary college-readiness programs and practices following an intensive nomination and research process. On November 5–6, evaluators from the CREST programwill be visiting Mt. Abram to learn more about the innovative college-ready programs that have been used by the school to effectively increase college-enrollment rates.
September 25, 2007
Announcing the Great Schools Partnership at the Mitchell Institute
Educators from two Maine organizations join forces
The Great Schools Partnership officially announced today its incorporation as a nonprofit supporting organization of the Senator George J. Mitchell Scholarship Research Institute. The newly created Partnership will work with educators and organizations across Maine and the nation to raise educational aspirations and achievement by creating equitable, rigorous, and personalized academic programs that prepare all students for college, work, and citizenship in the 21st century.
October 3, 2006
$2.4 Million Dollars Awarded to a Partnership of Five High Schools
The five schools will support Maine's ongoing school-improvement efforts
The U.S. Department of Education announced that it has awarded a $2,398,038 grant to Bonny Eagle High School, Lewiston High School, Noble High School, Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School, and South Portland High School through the federal Smaller Learning Communities Program. This major grant will provide direct support to more than 6,000 Maine students enrolled in these high schools, while expanding statewide efforts to prepare all Maine high school students for college, work, and citizenship.
June 16, 2008
$200K Grant Awarded to Four Maine Public Schools
Innovative partnership will improve math and science instruction
The Maine Department of Education announced last week that it has awarded a three-year, $200,000 grant to the Southern Aroostook Math and Science Partnership, an innovative effort to improve math and science achievement in the region. The Partnership includes three public schools—East Grand School, Katahdin Middle/High School, and Southern Aroostook Community School—the Region Two School of Applied Technology in Houlton, the mathematics and science faculty of Northern Maine Community College, and the Great Schools Partnership. All six partners share the belief that math and science instruction in grades 6–12 must be improved to meet the demands of an increasingly knowledge-based, technology-driven global economy.
January 17, 2008
Report Shows Early College Opportunities Boost College-Going Rates
Dual enrollment a promising strategy for increasing student achievement and aspirations
A report issued by the Senator George J. Mitchell Scholarship Research Institute presents convincing evidence that investing in early college opportunities for high school students pays great dividends. The findings show that students who face barriers to higher education, but who take college classes while still in high school, go on to college at rates of 80%, compared with 60% of their peers. The study examined the experiences of nearly 700 students at multiple early college sites across the state. Nearly three-quarters of these students would be the first in their family to pursue a four-year degree, and more than half improved their high school GPA after participating in an early college program.
November 5, 2007
Mt. Abram to Participate in National Study on College Readiness
The school's exemplary college-ready programs attract the notice of national experts
Mt. Abram Regional High School has been selected to participate in the College Readiness Evaluation for Schools and Teachers (CREST), a landmark study to determine how some of the nation's most effective high schools prepare their students for college and careers. As only one of 30 schools in the country to be so honored, Mt. Abram was selected for its exemplary college-readiness programs and practices following an intensive nomination and research process. On November 5–6, evaluators from the CREST programwill be visiting Mt. Abram to learn more about the innovative college-ready programs that have been used by the school to effectively increase college-enrollment rates.
September 25, 2007
Announcing the Great Schools Partnership at the Mitchell Institute
Educators from two Maine organizations join forces
The Great Schools Partnership officially announced today its incorporation as a nonprofit supporting organization of the Senator George J. Mitchell Scholarship Research Institute. The newly created Partnership will work with educators and organizations across Maine and the nation to raise educational aspirations and achievement by creating equitable, rigorous, and personalized academic programs that prepare all students for college, work, and citizenship in the 21st century.
October 3, 2006
$2.4 Million Dollars Awarded to a Partnership of Five High Schools
The five schools will support Maine's ongoing school-improvement efforts
The U.S. Department of Education announced that it has awarded a $2,398,038 grant to Bonny Eagle High School, Lewiston High School, Noble High School, Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School, and South Portland High School through the federal Smaller Learning Communities Program. This major grant will provide direct support to more than 6,000 Maine students enrolled in these high schools, while expanding statewide efforts to prepare all Maine high school students for college, work, and citizenship.