The event, scheduled for 1–3 p.m. April 28 at Wells Conference Center, will feature school officials from more than 20 communities, mostly in central and eastern Maine. They’ll have the opportunity to meet current 91¸£Àû students majoring in elementary education, secondary education, early childhood education, physical education, music education and art education, as well as graduate students in 91¸£Àû’s Master of Arts in Teaching program. Education students from Eastern Maine Community College and Husson University have also been invited to participate in the fair.

“Several schools and districts are hiring teachers right now, and there was a great deal of interest in reviving our career fair to bring future educators and employers together,â€� says Penny Bishop, dean of 91¸£Àû’s College of Education and Human Development.

“By the time they graduate, our preservice teachers will have more than 800 hours of hands-on experience in classrooms through their student teaching and other field placements,� Bishop adds. “They are well-prepared to meet the needs of children, families and communities throughout Maine.�

The Education Career Fair was last held in 2019. The event was canceled in 2020 and not held at all in 2021 due to the pandemic.

The 91¸£Àû College of Education and Human Development is the state’s largest teacher preparation program, with more than 700 students currently in programs that lead to teacher licensure in Maine.

PREP is a collaborative partnership organization focused on improving student learning by providing high-quality professional development for educators. It has 27 members, including 23 school districts in the Greater Bangor/Eastern Maine area and four higher education partners: 91¸£Àû, University of Maine Augusta at Bangor, Husson University and Eastern Maine Community College. Betsy Webb, Libra Professor of Educational Leadership at 91¸£Àû, is PREP’s executive director.

The event will provide regional professional development on a variety of topics, including technology, student engagement, wellness, STEM, literacy, math, outdoor learning spaces, teacher clarity, home-school relationships, adaptive leadership and social-emotional and equity learning. There will be 180 different presentation sessions throughout the day from organizations such as Bangor Public Health and Community Services; Bangor Region YMCA; Acadia Hospital; Northern Light Primary Care; the Maine Multicultural Center; Maine Department of Education; Maine and County Teachers of the Year; Maine School Safety Center; EMCC; Husson University; 91¸£Àû Augusta at Bangor; 91¸£Àû; and several school district leaders.

This year’s keynote speaker is Greta Peay, founder and CEO of Diversity Matters, LLC. Peay joined Nevada’s Clark County School District in 1987, following eight years at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School System, in Charlotte, North Carolina. She has dedicated more than 40 years of service to the education profession. Her career is best described as a change agent and advocate for social justice and equitable opportunities.

A bilingual speaker, Peay is nationally known for her professional development skills in the areas of literacy, language acquisition, cultural responsiveness, equity, diversity and inclusion. She retired from the Clark County School District as the chief instructional services of�cer.

For PREP, she has designed a presentation for all educators, titled “The Journey of Equity: Creating Healthy Schools — Social and Emotional Learning.� Social and emotional learning (SEL) provides a foundation for healthy development. It is the process children, youth and adults go through to develop the skills to engage with others, manage their emotions, show empathy, handle stress, resolve stress, set goals and make responsible decisions to succeed in work and life.

For more information, contact Betsy Webb: betsy.webb@maine.edu.

Each year, the districts’ Curriculum/Instructional Leaders meet monthly to plan and offer professional development that helps meet the needs of all educational faculty and staff. As a member of PREP, your district’s faculty and staff are able to participate in any and all offered PD at no extra charge. The only participant requirement is that you register for any/all available events through your district’s Curriculum Leader. There is a where all event flyers are saved. We also have a list of upcoming events at this .

We hope you have had a great start to your new school year! We also hope you are able to join us at least once this year. If you have ideas or suggestions for future PD, please share with either your Curriculum Leader or me, elaine.bartley@maine.edu.

Thanks for all you do to make a difference in the educational experience of all PREP members’ students! We appreciate you.

Sincerely,

Elaine Bartley, PREP Executive Director

Highlight of Fall Events!
September 20th – Mentor Refresher Training
September 24th – Suicide Awareness Training
September 26th – Visible Learning in ELA
October 3rd – Jan Chappuis and Assessment Literacy!
October 15th – Executive Function (Elementary & Middle Levels)
October 15 & 16th – Mentor Teacher Training
October 29th – Executive Function (Middle & High Levels)
October 29th – Visible Learning in Math
October 30th – Dawnland in the Classroom

• Everything Lucy! – May 2 
• Mentor Teacher Training – May 10 & 11
• Assessment Literacy Training – Day 4 – May 18
• PREP Curriculum Leaders’ Meeting – May 2

As always, keep track of all PREP events on our calendar page.

PREP curriculum leaders will meet March 7 from noon until 2:30 p.m. Also, on March 7, we’ll be holding day two of our Everything Lucy event from 4 to 6 p.m. Finally, March 17 is school counselors PD day from 8:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m.

As always, keep track of all upcoming PREP events by visiting our calendar page.

The first upcoming event is PREP’s Curriculum Coordinators Meeting on Monday Dec. 19. A mentor teacher training originally scheduled for Dec. 13 has been postponed until Feb. 9 and 10. Also in the New Year, day three of the literacy assessment training is set for Jan. 12, and a suicide awareness training is scheduled for Jan. 18.

As always, keep track of all upcoming PREP events by visiting our calendar page.