Maine

 

CLICK HERE TO BECOME A MEMBER OF AMERICA’S EDGE

 

Did you know that in Maine:

  • Almost 270,000 children (under the age of 18) live in the state;
  • 1 out of every 3 children live in a household with only one parent;
  • More than 70 percent of children under the age of 6 have both or their only parent in the work force;
  • Approximately 2,700 children participate in the federally-funded Head Start program;
  • 61 percent of eighth graders are below grade level in math;
  • 68 percent of fourth graders are reading below grade level
Click here for the complete Maine Child Fact Sheet.

Did you also know that in Maine:

  • 16% of high school students fail to graduate on time.
  • 90% of all new jobs created between 2008 and 2018 will require some type of formal education beyond high school.
  • Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) jobs will grow by 7% in between 2008 and 2018, and 87% of STEM jobs will require post-secondary education by 2018.
 

Developing Necessary Skill Sets

 

To overcome the challenges of the skills gap, we must train and re-train our current workforce. We must also develop skills in young people to ensure that they enter the workforce better prepared.  To be equipped with the knowledge and abilities businesses now require, students must:

  •  Master Core Academic Content
  •  Think Critically and Solve Complex Problems
  • Work Collaboratively
  • Communicate Effectively
  •  Learn How to Learn
Click here to read a description of these skills.
 

Bringing Career Relevance to High School Classrooms

 

An innovative education approach, often called “smaller learning communities,” integrate career relevance with a rigorous academic curriculum, equipping students with important skills highly valued by employers. This education approach:

  • Is comprised of a group of students who take classes together for at least two years and are taught by the same group of teachers
  • Provides a college preparatory curriculum based on a career theme that helps students see relationships and connections between academic subjects and their application in the real world.
  • Develops partnerships with employers, the community, and colleges.

One model known as “Career Academies” is being implemented in high schools across the country. Click here for information about how the Career Academies model can be a solution.

 

Our 2013 Policy Priorities

 

Education policy at the federal and state levels needs to address the range of knowledge and skills needed for all students to be fully ready for college and careers. Policy opportunities include:

  • Skill Development
  • Measurable Results
  • Accountability
  • Professional Development and Teaching Practice
 Click here to view the policy actions in support of increased workforce skill levels in Maine.

America’s Edge members will be urging their state legislators and Congressional delegation to do the following:

a.    State Policy Priorities:

  • Protect the state’s funding for Head Start from further cuts and support efforts to restore 2012 cuts;
  • Protect childcare subsidies from further cuts;
  • Strengthen early education; and
  • Promote innovative high school programs that focus on deeper learning skills.

b.    Federal Policy Priorities:

  • Fight against cuts, and where possible seek increases, for Head Start, Early Head Start and both the discretionary and mandatory funding streams of the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG).
 

America’s Edge Releases New Report in Portland

 

Click here to view the report entitled, “Boosting Maine’s Economy: Short- and Long-Term Effects of Quality Early Learning”

Three prominent Maine business leaders released a report Janaury 24, 2013 showing that investments in high-quality early learning programs are good for Maine businesses and help boost the economy both today and in the future.  The report also shows that quality components of these programs, such as small class sizes and small child-to-teacher ratios, are the key to achieving robust economic outcomes.

Robert “Bob” Moore reading to students at the Opportunity Alliance Head Start Center

Participating in the news conference at The Opportunity Alliance Head Start Center were Meredith Strang Burgess, CEO of Burgess Advertising and Marketing and a former state representative from Cumberland who chaired the Health and Human Services Committee; Robert (Bob) Moore, CEO & Chairman of Dead River Company; Dana Connors, President of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce; and Susan Gates, National Director of America’s Edge, a nonprofit business leaders organization.

 

America’s Edge Releases New Report in Portland and Bangor

 

1104 ME Press Conference Multiplier Report13.JPG Click here to read the report entitled, “Strengthening Maine Businesses through Investments in Early Care and Education“

Coverage about the Report Release

See Video Coverage of Report Release in Bangor, ME

America’s Edge Maine Members Meet with U.S. Senators Collins and King

 

Dana Connors and Elizabeth Timm with Sen. Susan Collins

On Tuesday, March 19, 2013, America’s Edge members Dana Connors, President of the Maine Chamber of Commerce; Elizabeth Timm, President, (Ret.), Bank of America; and Derek Volk, President, Volk Packaging Corporation, met with U.S. Senators Susan M. Collins and Angus S. King in the Senators’ DC offices. Connors, Timm, and Volk discussed the priorities of America’s Edge with the Senators: high-quality early learning and innovative high school education models.

Dana Connors and Senator Angus King

 

 

 

 

 

America’s Edge Maine Members Meet with U.S. Senators Snowe and Collins

 

America’s Edge members Jim Clair and Dana Connors with U.S. Senator Susan M. Collins

On Tuesday, April 13, 2010, America’s Edge members Dana Connors, President of the Maine Chamber of Commerce, and Jim Clair, CEO of Goold Health Systems, met with U.S. Senators Olympia J. Snowe and Susan M. Collins in the Senators’ DC offices.  Connors and Clair introduced America’s Edge to Snowe and Collins and made the case for increased federal investments in Head Start, Early Head Start and Child Care Development Block Grants.

Dana Connors and Jim Clair with U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe

 “As a country, we have rarely viewed early childhood development as a strategy for economic growth. But investments in high-quality early education and care are among the most cost-effective and powerful sources of economic stimulus available.” –James A. Clair, CEO, Goold Health Systems, Augusta, ME

Click here to view the sign-on letter presented to Senator Collins, and click here to view the sign-on letter presented to Senator Snowe.

In May 2012, two America’s Edge members — Peter Gore and John Rohman — met with Senator Susan Collins in Washington, DC to discuss the business outcomes in investments in early care and education.

American Edge members Peter Gore, Vice President Maine State Chamber of Commerce and John Rohman, retired Chairman of the Board, WBRC Architects & Engineers, Bangor meet with Senator Collins

 

 

America’s Edge Maine in the News

 

*For more information, please contact State Director, Kim Gore.

Phone: (207) 725-5946

E-mail: kgore@AmericasEdge.org.