Community Literacy Team Kick-off Meetings

An Invitation to Your School

The Maine Department of Education (Maine DOE) is committed to ensuring that Maine’s children are ready for post-secondary education, careers, and civic life by the time they graduate from high school and enter adulthood. Helping all Maine residents develop strong literacy skills is a crucial part of that mission, and one that transcends schools and requires involvement from everyone in our communities. Literacy for ME: Maine’s Comprehensive State Literacy Plan offers a roadmap for local communities to bolster their literacy infrastructure with the help of state-level activities that support those efforts. The Literacy for ME plan, as well as a summary of the plan, can be obtained at

A cornerstone recommendation of the Literacy for ME plan is to assist local Maine communities in developing their own comprehensive literacy plans to strengthen literacy levels among their citizens. Maine schools are foundational to this critical work, but should not be in this work alone. Comprehensive literacy planning enables communities, of which schools are a critical component, to take stock of the literacy support resources already available, to coordinate those resources to ensure adequate support is in place across the birth-adult span, and to identify and address gaps that may exist across the local community. In an effort to support local communities to begin the planning process, the Maine Department of Education is sponsoring a series of regional meetings to provide local community teams with an understanding of how to embark on the process of comprehensive literacy planning and to introduce them to tools and resources that can support their work.

These day-long meetings (9:00-3:00) are designed for local community planning teams of 4-8 members that span the birth-adult continuum. Community planning teams will learn about the components of Literacy for ME, explore how to develop a comprehensive local literacy plan for their community, and learn about a variety of tools and resources available to provide support with the process of plan development and implementation. Community planning teams can serve individual towns or represent regional school systems, and should include representation from across the birth to adult continuum. Meeting dates and locations are listed below, along with recommendations for potential team configurations. These meetings are free for planning teams and lunch will be provided. Schools may request substitute reimbursement for up to two educators each at a rate of $80 per day.

To register a community literacy planning team, the MDOE is strongly encouraging Maine schools and/or school systems to take the lead by forming a team of 4-8 members representing the birth-adult continuum within their community. A school official can serve as the team leader or could enlist a community partner to serve this role. Once the team leader is determined and members are selected, the team leader should register the team at: The registration deadline is September 17, 2012. An agenda for the meeting can be obtained at

If you have questions, please contact Lee Anne Larsen, MDOE Literacy Specialist at 624-6628 or .

Meeting Locations

Region / Location / Date
Presque Isle / Presque Isle Inn and Convention Center / September 19, 2012
Machias / Pellon Center / September 20, 2012
Bangor / Jeff’s Catering / September 21, 2012
Augusta / Calumet Club / September 25, 2012
Lewiston / Green Ladle / September 27, 2012
Portland / Seasons Conference Center / September 28, 2012

Recommended Team Members

  • Early childhood educators/providers
  • K-12 educators (classroom teachers and special educators) and administrators
  • K-12 Literacy Specialists
  • Adult educators
  • Family literacy educators
  • Directors or members of civic organizations and/or businesses that support literacy
  • School and community librarians
  • Health care providers
  • Parents
  • Other community partners