Session Info

Executive functions are a set of mental processes that allow us to connect past experiences to present and future action. Executive functions also help us plan, organize, strategize, focus, remember, manage time and space, and regulate emotions and impulses. Students with strong executive functioning perform better in school, have better attendance and behavior, and are more likely to achieve long-term goals they set for themselves. This workshop provides tools and strategies to help teachers systematically improve students’ executive functioning skills at all grade levels.  

In predominantly white schools and locals, white-identifying educators have a responsibility to lead with a racial and social justice lens. This session offers restorative approaches for responding to harm— especially around race, identity, and equity. Participants will learn social and emotional leadership skills and practice how to “call in,” make effective apologies, and repair trust with a focus on building resilient, inclusive communities.  

The use of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) tools creates access and opportunities for inclusion for students without reliable communication. Educational technicians are key players in implementing AAC across the student’s day by offering access to AAC tools, teaching language, and leveraging other visual supports. This breakout session will focus on giving an overview of AAC teaching strategies, emphasizing a core vocabulary approach and offering suggestions for embedding AAC in academic instruction. There will also be a hands-on component, where participants will practice using AAC within specific academic or daily routine scenarios. Participants will also leave this session with ideas for improving communication access and suggestions for accommodating students with complex communication needs.

Everyday attendance requires clear expectations, explicit teaching, practice, acknowledgment, effective interventions, and regular progress monitoring. Review tiered strategies for supporting student attendance fit right into a MTSS framework. Explore tools and resources to make your attendance improvement efforts more effective.  

This session will focus on several areas critical to helping educators improve their financial stability.   Understand the financial steps you may want to take before prioritizing retirement savings.  Learn why your MainePERS pension is susceptible to being eroded by inflation and what you can do to better protect yourself.   You will learn about common pitfalls of 403(b) plans and what you can do if you don’t have access to a high-quality, low-cost 403(b) provider through your school.  Discover tax benefits available to educators and some strategies for dealing with student loan debt.  This will be an interactive presentation with time for Q&A. 

Designed to create safer learning environments for both students and staff, Maine’s Dangerous Behavior Prevention and Intervention Law outlines clear procedures for addressing dangerous incidents in schools. This session will provide an overview of the unified guidance developed by MEA in collaboration with other educational organizations*, aimed at ensuring effective implementation of the law. Participants will learn what is classified as a dangerous behavior, understand the protections the law offers, and explore the necessary protocols that labor-management teams should establish. Additionally, attendees will be guided through the reporting, review, and individualized planning processes to ensure proper response and intervention in such incidents. 

*Maine School Management, Maine School Superintendents Association, Maine Principals Association, and Maine Administrators of Services for Children with Disabilities 

Artificial intelligence is a powerful tool that can transform how we teach and how students learn. In this session, we’ll explore practical ways educators can leverage AI to reclaim valuable time, streamline planning, personalize instruction, and support diverse learners. But the impact doesn’t stop there: we’ll also dive into strategies for teaching students how to use AI responsibly, ethically, and creatively to enhance their own learning and build essential future-ready skills.  

This presentation focuses on updating family leadership programs to better recognize and incorporate the diverse knowledge and strengths that students and families bring to the table. Participants will explore strategies for applying MAEC’s Family Leadership Model to create more inclusive and effective leadership opportunities. We also share concrete examples and resources for building family capacity, equipping attendees with tools to empower families as active leaders in their school communities.

This session highlights ten practical steps educators can take to advance equity in classrooms and school communities. Each step includes a guiding principle, actionable strategy, and reflection prompt to inspire change. Topics include culturally responsive teaching, representation in curriculum, restorative practices, and community engagement. Attendees will leave with a clear, research-informed roadmap to build awareness, develop capacity, and take action toward more equitable learning environments. These resources are designed to be immediately usable and adaptable for diverse school contexts.

This workshop invites participants to explore the many features of the Maine Climate Education Hub — a free interdisciplinary website housing over 3,000 resources aligned with the Maine Learning Results. The Hub offers lesson plans, place-based materials, units, videos, student news (differentiated for grades 5–12), data sets, interactive activities, games, professional development opportunities, curriculum planning guides, and more. Small groups will move through stations to explore strategies for teaching this topic, then participants will have time to discover resources that align with their discipline and grade level. These materials are designed to empower all educators to teach about climate change, justice, and action with confidence and ease. Together, we can help every child learn to become a steward of our planet. *Participants are encouraged to bring a digital device!*  

Though “communication” and “collaboration” are prominently featured in educator evaluation rubrics, we rarely practice the skills at the heart of those valued ideals. Through a series of interactive and familiar exercises, the session will provide participants with a framework and vocabulary through which they might approach their complicated workplace conversations.    

This course prepares workers to organize effectively and build collective power on the job. You’ll learn how to identify shared workplace issues, plan and carry out strong union campaigns, recognize and respond to management, and bring co‑workers together in solidarity to act despite uncertainty or fear. 

Kay Grindall is a retired English and journalism teacher of 30 years at Waterville High School.  She has experienced the heartbreaking loss of a child and can share classroom and student insight as a mother and educator–speaking from both sides of the desk.  She will share effective classroom projects and suggested protocol when our students experience the death of a loved one.  

There are many reasons to bring Wabanaki Studies to your work. We’ll spend some time exploring how Wabanaki studies teaches us to connect more deeply with our surroundings as well as the people around us. The land we now call Maine has always been home to Wabanaki. We’ll think about how weaving Wabanaki Studies into our existing curriculum can benefit all students, educators, and the land we all now call home. 

Story Telling Strengthen Our Union will focus on telling individual stories to aid organizing conversations, build relationships and shared values on the job as well as organizing conversations, build relationships and shared values on the job as well as sharing our collective story about organizing to build hope and motivate workers to action.  

Behaviors occur, and while we can’t control every root cause, we can make adjustments and use interventions to support student regulation. In this training, participants will identify a challenging behavior they are facing, determine what is within their control, and use a fishbone protocol to pinpoint the root cause. This process helps in identifying ethical interventions to achieve behavioral goals.  

Learn how to build a culture of outdoor learning at your school! In this workshop you will navigate open-source resources about how to foster a conversation among your colleagues to support long-term change, and hear directly from a teacher who has done so successfully. You will experience hands-on, interdisciplinary activities, and explore strategies to support taking students outside. Come network,  learn from others, and leave with new outdoor learning ideas. 

This course prepares workers to organize effectively and build collective power on the job. You’ll learn how to identify shared workplace issues, plan and carry out strong union campaigns, recognize and respond to management, and bring co‑workers together in solidarity to act despite uncertainty or fear. 

As educators, we know how meaningful it is when students see themselves reflected in the stories they read, watch, and engage with. You may have noticed moments where that representation is missing or wished for characters that better reflect your students’ identities and experiences. In this interactive session with OUT Maine, you’ll explore how representation shows up in media and how certain stories shape what we see as “normal.” You’ll have the chance to create your own character that reflects identities you wish were more visible, using provided materials. You’re also welcome to bring additional art supplies if you’d like to get creative. We’ll wrap up by sharing practical ideas for bringing more diverse and inclusive stories into your classroom. Together, we’ll think about how to create spaces where students feel seen, valued, and reflected in the stories we share.

Many educators are noticing shifts in student performance and questioning how referral processes for special education have evolved in recent years. In this session, we will unpack what has changed since COVID, including how referral criteria, intervention expectations, and documentation practices may look different today. Participants will explore common challenges, including supporting students who struggle but may not meet eligibility, and will leave with practical strategies to strengthen classroom interventions and documentation.

All employees have basic rights in the workplace, and understanding your rights is critical to your employment. In this session, participants will learn about employment laws and issues they might encounter. From collective bargaining agreements to first amendment rights to dangerous behavior and prevention laws and more, you will learn how these critical laws and statues impact your work and what your rights are in each of these situations.   

Teachers often encounter disruptive behaviors, which can escalate into more severe behavior if classroom management strategies are not employed. This session will discuss the ongoing behavior crisis in schools, and participants will leave with practical, evidence-based classroom management strategies they can implement immediately.   

The four key pillars of p4c Hawai’i are community, inquiry, philosophy, and reflection. During our session participants will learn how these pillars are practiced in a Community of Inquiry circle. Participants will understand how p4c Community of Inquiry promotes equity and inclusion through facilitated sharing where all will be  given the opportunity to contribute. Participants will also be introduced to the Good Thinker’s Tool Kit (GTTK) and explore how to use this educational resource to help facilitate Circles of Inquiry. Participants will learn the basic procedures and language around p4c to begin to facilitate successful p4c circles in their own community.   

P4c Hawai’i derives from a curriculum developed in the late 1960s by philosopher Matthew Lipman. It was later adapted by Dr. Thomas E. Jackson of the University of Hawai’i to reflect Native Hawaiian culture and the sense of community found there. In the summer 2025, Dr. Toby Yos from the University of Hawai’i Manoa, through a collaboration with Dr. Sherry Pineau Brown of Colby College brought students and educators from Maine and Hawai’i together to learn about and participate in p4c circles of inquiry. Through their collaboration came the impetus to begin p4c in two Central Maine alternative school settings. Dr. Yos and Dr. Brown along with students from p4c Hawai’i will also be available during the workshop to answer questions. 

This course prepares workers to organize effectively and build collective power on the job. You’ll learn how to identify shared workplace issues, plan and carry out strong union campaigns, recognize and respond to management, and bring co‑workers together in solidarity to act despite uncertainty or fear. 

Roll for Initiative! Dungeons & Dragons as a Method to Teach Union Values: In this session, we will discuss and demonstrate through play the parallels between table top role playing games and our work as union advocates, how play and joy can build solidarity, and ways to build the heroic imagination within our colleagues and members. No D&D experience needed!  

This session will support school-level teams to better understand the value and effectiveness of classroom management strategies on student behavior and teacher wellbeing. Teams will learn how to assess and strengthen classroom management skills using evidence-based classroom management strategies. Resources for assessment and classroom management training will be provided.

In this session, we’ll take a closer look at the National Association for Family, School, and Community Engagement (NAFSCE) Core Competencies and what they really mean for your day-to-day work with families and communities. Together, we’ll explore all eight competencies and how they show up in real practice, from building strong relationships and communicating effectively to honoring diverse perspectives and creating shared decision-making opportunities.

This won’t just be about frameworks. You’ll have time to reflect on your own approach, think about what’s working, and consider where there’s room to grow. Through conversation and examples, we’ll talk about how these competencies can help build trust, strengthen partnerships, and create more inclusive environments for students and families. You’ll leave with practical ideas you can try right away, along with a clearer sense of how to bring these competencies to life in your role and support better outcomes for students.

Discover the brilliant and intuitive ways students engage in science and engineering through self-directed play! In this interactive session, we’ll dive into play-based pedagogy, phenomena-driven learning, and the Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs) – an essential but often overlooked component of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Through engaging video examples and small group discussions, we’ll explore how young learners ask questions, analyze data, and design solutions through play. We’ll also introduce field-tested SciEPlay tools, developed through a four-year National Science Foundation collaboration with the Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance (MMSA), Bowdoin College, and Samara Early Learning. Walk away with new insights and practical strategies to enrich play-based learning and student-led investigations. 

National Board Certification is the most respected professional certification available in education. Any educator with a  bachelor’s degree, active teaching certificate, and 3 years teaching/school  counseling experience is eligible for certification. MEA offers members free support sessions to help them attain certification. In this session, join one of our NBCT facilitators, Jen Dorman, to learn about the certification process, the supports provided by MEA, and how this opportunity can change your practice, your students, and your school. 

This gentle yoga class emphasizes slow, mindful movement, breathing, and relaxation. We’ll focus on connecting with the body, improving flexibility, and reducing stress. Modifications and props will be offered to ensure a comfortable and safe practice. Mats and blocks are available if needed.