2026 Educate Maine Symposium: Full Schedule

10:00am EST

Ready for Liftoff: Five Space STEM Lessons You Can Teach Next Week

Friday December 11, 2026 10:00am - 10:50am EST

Get ready to launch engaging STEM learning with five hands-on, classroom-tested space activities you can implement immediately. Experience mini versions of engineering challenges inspired by NASA and the International Space Station, including water recovery systems, microgravity drop towers, crater engineering, CubeSat design, and ISS engineering challenges. You'll leave with ready-to-use lesson plans, student resources, and practical strategies that make authentic space STEM accessible for any classroom. Whether you teach upper elementary, middle, or high school, you'll gain standards-aligned activities that spark curiosity, build problem-solving skills, and inspire the next generation of innovators.

Speakers

Karin Paquin

Dean of Faculty/5-8 Science/ Co-founder C.O.M.E.T.S., St. John's Catholic School/ C.O.M.E.T.S. (Collaborative Outreach for Maine Educators in Technology & Space

Karin Paquin is the Dean of Faculty and a middle school science teacher at St. John's Catholic School in Brunswick, Maine. With a background in marine science and over a decade of experience in education, she is passionate about creating authentic, hands-on STEM experiences that connect students with r... Read More →

Friday December 11, 2026 10:00am - 10:50am EST

Breakout Session

Who You'll Hear From Educator
Subject Curriculum Innovations, STEM Focus

11:10am EST

Building a Literacy Coalition

Friday December 11, 2026 11:10am - 12:00pm EST

The Maine State Library and four other organizations are on a mission to enhance the current and future lives of young children (birth - 5) and their families through the acquisition of literacy skills and recognition of their lifelong importance. Combining forces, these complementary organizations are intentionally meeting families and communities where they are, acknowledging their needs and goals, creating and curating child-centered, strengths-based resources, and evolving accordingly over time. In this interactive session, learn how each organization works to promote literacy, how we are collaborating to build a statewide, sustainable coalition— and why and how you can participate.

Speakers

Janet Boswell

Director of Special Projects, Northeast Region, Reach Out and Read

Janet is the Director of Special Projects for Reach Out and Read’s Northeast Region. A national nonprofit with programs in every state, Reach Out and Read partners directly with practitioners to promote early literacy and relational health during well child visits for children aged... Read More →

Beth Crist

Director, Special Projects, Maine State Library

Beth Crist, Director of Special Projects at the Maine State Library, has been working to support early childhood development in public libraries for over a decade. She passionately advocates for increasing access to library services, such as eliminating fines and fees on library materials... Read More →

Lee Anne Larsen

Director of Early Learning, Maine State Department of Education

Lee Anne Larsen is the Director of Early Learning in Maine’s Department of Education (DOE) where she leads a variety of early learning initiatives and supports early childhood policy and programming development. Holding a BS in Early Childhood Education and Family Studies from... Read More →

Nancy McGinnis

Learning & Literacy Liaison Librarian/VISTA AmeriCorps Volunteer, Maine State Library

Connecting with people and connecting the dots has been a lifelong passion for Nancy McGinnis. She weaves her decades of experience as a Maine children’s librarian and then public library director, freelance writer/photographer, small business entrepreneur and community activist... Read More →

Courtney Waring

Executive Director, Island Readers and Writers

As Executive Director of Island Readers and Writers, Courtney leads the organization’s mission to connect children and communities through books, nurturing a love of reading and learning. She sees curiosity and creativity as essential tools for growth and believes stories have the... Read More →

Friday December 11, 2026 11:10am - 12:00pm EST

Breakout Session

Who You'll Hear From Community Organization, State Government
Subject Early Childhood, Curriculum Innovations

11:10am EST

Community is the Answer: How the Central Maine Education Consortium (CMEC) has Built Bridges for a Healthy Educational Ecosystem in Central Maine

Friday December 11, 2026 11:10am - 12:00pm EST

Come join us as we explore the ways in which the Central Maine Education Consortium (CMEC)-- an organization connecting higher education institutions, PK-12 schools, and community education stakeholders-- has addressed the challenges in education in Central Maine, including teacher workforce development, alternative education, arts integration, STEM, and other "special interest groups" (SIGs) formed through the CMEC. You'll have an opportunity to discuss or showcase your own innovative teaching techniques or joyful moments in education during this session!

Speakers

Sherry Brow

Coordinator of Teacher Education, Colby College

Dr. Sherry Pineau Brown, Director of the Central Maine Education Consortium, is an educator with 25+ years experience. Currently a Lecturer in Education and Coordinator of Teacher Education at Colby College, her research focuses on Teachers' Positive Persistence, dedicated to fostering... Read More →

Katie Rybakova

Chair, Lunder School of Education, Thomas College

Katie Rybakova, Ph.D., is an academic leader at the Thomas College Lunder School of Education and currently serves as chair of the school of education. She is also the Executive Director of the Maine Association for Middle Level Education and Assistant Director and Co-Founder of the... Read More →

Friday December 11, 2026 11:10am - 12:00pm EST

Breakout Session

Who You'll Hear From Higher Education
Subject School-Community Partnerships, Curriculum Innovations

11:10am EST

Powerful Pilot Project: a closer look at the CSforME Research-Practice Partnership

Friday December 11, 2026 11:10am - 12:00pm EST

CSforME RPP members join forces to study practical challenges, co-develop evidence-based solutions, and shift power dynamics to ensure equity and mutual benefit for rural high schools integrating computer science and computational thinking in Math, Science, ELA, and Social Studies.
Attendees will learn about long-term, intentional collaborations between researchers and practitioners (e.g., school districts, policymakers, and community leaders) and examples of what our pilot project has discovered.

Speakers

Angela Oechslie

Director, STEM Pathways and Innovation, Educate Maine

I lead the Project>Login & Maine Mobile BioLab programs at Educate Maine and love to support teachers as they implement STEM and computer science in their schools. I lead the CSCLE business/bus tour each fall. I am a trained SCRIPT facilitator, the community partner for Girls Who... Read More →

Friday December 11, 2026 11:10am - 12:00pm EST

Breakout Session

Who You'll Hear From Community Organization, Educator
Subject Curriculum Innovations, STEM Focus

1:50pm EST

Lessons from the Coastal TRACERS Project: Partners engaging students to build data & ocean literacy through authentic research experiences in their communities

Friday December 11, 2026 1:50pm - 2:40pm EST

Teachers in coastal communities from Kittery to Machias have worked alongside community partners, experts, and education researchers to study how data literacy is taught and understood by students, working in the context of marine science related topics and technologies. After four years of learning and modifying, we want to share what we know and give teachers across Maine resources and confidence to explore using authentic data investigations in their classrooms and communities. Join us as our teachers and researchers discuss their experiences and why this could be a meaningful addition to your curriculum.

Speakers

Shane Barker

Program Coordinator, University of Maine

A long time science and math teacher Shane has been with the RiSE Center at the University of Maine for the past year and a half. Shane has served as the program coordinator on the Coastal TRACERS grant and helped organize and facilitate monthly professional learning for teachers... Read More →

Carol Coryea

Teacher, Washington Academy

This will be changed: Carol teaches grades 9-12 at Washington Academy in East Machias, Maine. A former potato grower, Carol has been teaching for more than 20 years and is a local clammer. At Washington Academy she teaches coastal ecology, Honors Biology and Chemistry. When she started the Coastal TRACERS pr... Read More →

Tim Foret

Teacher, R.W. Traip Academy

This will be changed: Tim teaches 9th grade Earth Science and is an adjunct faculty member at SNHU (COLT). He has been teaching science for more than 14 years. He is using his science background in salt marsh ecology, fisheries & aquaculture, and rapid environmental assessment to guide students in their i... Read More →

Sara Lindsay

Professor, University of Maine

A Professor of Marine Sciences at the University of Maine and member of the Maine Center for Research in STEM Education, Sara has been working with educators and scientists to build students’ STEM literacy for more than two decades. She is a marine biologist by training, and has... Read More →

Ally Ryan

Teacher, Boothbay Region High School

This will be changed: Ally started working with the Coastal TRACERS project as a graduate student at the University of Maine and then joined as a teacher. Now in her 3rd year of teaching, Ally teaches Biology, Anatomy and Marine Science at Boothbay Region High School. She is very interested in the int... Read More →

Friday December 11, 2026 1:50pm - 2:40pm EST

Breakout Session

Who You'll Hear From Educator, Higher Education
Subject Curriculum Innovations, STEM Focus

2026 Educate Maine Symposium

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2026 Educate Maine Symposium

10:00am EST

Karin Paquin

11:10am EST

Janet Boswell

Beth Crist

Lee Anne Larsen

Nancy McGinnis

Courtney Waring

11:10am EST

Sherry Brow

Katie Rybakova

11:10am EST

Angela Oechslie

1:50pm EST

Shane Barker

Carol Coryea

Tim Foret

Sara Lindsay

Ally Ryan

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10:00am EST

11:10am EST

11:10am EST

11:10am EST

1:50pm EST

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