Education & Human Development

Graduate Programs

Middle Level Education
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Overview
The University of Maine has a distinguished record of service, research, and graduate programs in middle level education. The College of Education and Human Development, Maine's Land-grant University, is a source of expertise on all aspects of middle level education, providing conferences, institutes, publications, staff development, consultation and research.

Middle Level Education Resource Library
Located in 126 Shibles Hall in the College of Education and Human Development, the MLE Resource Library offers information and materials, staff development assistance, consultation on all aspects of middle school improvement and research on critical middle school issues.

• Visit the Middle Level Education Resource Library page

Graduate Concentration in Middle Level Education
The M.Ed. and C.A.S. degrees with a concentration in middle level education are taught by graduate faculty of the state's advanced degree and research institution. This program is built around courses, inquiry, and field-based projects to enrich and extend theory, practice, and leadership in middle level education. The M.Ed. program is 33 hours and the C.A.S. program is 30 hours.

• Middle Level Graduate Concentration program page

The Middle Level Education Institute
The acclaimed Middle Level Education Institute is a one-week program offered every July. Limited to 200 people, the institute brings together teams composed of principals, teachers, students, school board members and parents from middle level schools across the country, to learn about young adolescents and how to plan exemplary programs for their students. National consultants work with each team.

The Institute is the catalyst for the graduate concentration and for hundreds of innovative programs and practices in schools throughout the state, around the country, in Canada and other nations. In addition to gaining valuable professional growth and contacts, institute participants may earn either three graduate credits or 4.5 continuing education units (CEUs).

Middle Level Endorsement
The Middle Level Endorsement is offered by the Maine Department of Education for teachers needing certification to extend their K-8, 7-12, or K-12 teaching certificates or to add to their professional expertise. Holders of Maine teaching certificates may apply to the Department of Education for a grades 5-8 middle level endorsement. Four areas of professional expertise are required and two areas of 18 credit hour concentrations (language arts and social studies, for example) are required for the content teaching background. Opportunities to "portfolio" one or more of the professional requirements are available through Maine Association for Middle Level Education (LINK to MAMLE) (see below).

Related Information and Links
National Middle School Association (NMSA) www.nmsa.org
New England League of Middle Schools (NELMS) www.nelms.org
Maine Association for Middle Level Education (MAMLE) www.mamleonline.org
National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform www.mgforum.org
MiddleWeb www.middleWeb.com

More Information
For further information about Middle Level Education at the University of Maine, contact:

Dr. Edward Brazee
or
Dr. Gert Nesin
5766 Shibles Hall
University of Maine
Orono, ME 04469

or call: (207) 581-2484 or E-mail: ed.brazee@umit.maine.edu