For School Administrative Unit personnel
You are already aware that every special educator issued conditional certification after July 15, 2018, must participate in Maine’s Alternative Certification Mentoring program (MACM).
MACM is the program currently designated by the Department as referenced in the revised Chapter 180 rule:
For teachers in the first year of a Conditional Certificate for a Special Education Endorsement on the effective date of this Rule and, subsequently, all conditionally certified special education teachers
The SAU must ensure that a conditionally certified special education teacher completes an alternative certification and mentoring program designated by the Department specifically for conditionally certified special education teachers. For a newly hired teacher, for the purposes of this Rule, participation in an alternative certification and mentoring program supersedes and satisfies the requirements of Subsection 2.
[Chapter 180, Sec 11, number 5, p. 10, italics added]
MACM Participants
The general rule is that conditionally certified special educators must participate in MACM, ideally during their first year as teacher of record. There are modified requirements for some, depending upon her or his certification and teaching history.
When there is no local special education mentor available, the Local Educational Authority should assign a general education mentor from the new teacher’s school to support the person in SAU norms and practices. We will assign a special educator mentor from MACM to provide special education support. Ideally, the SAU and MACM mentors will be in contact with each other to co-mentor your new teacher. You will continue to use the evaluation processes already in place in your district. MACM mentors do not conduct formal evaluations. They are expected to maintain confidentiality; however, they are also expected to honor their responsibilities as mandated reporters.
Please see Table below for a breakdown of what parts of MACM are required for your new teacher. If you are unsure if your new teacher is required to participate in MACM, please contact the MACM coordinator (Valerie.smith@maine.edu) for help.
| Teacher History | MACM Course | SED Mentor | LEA Mentor |
| Professional level special education certificate from a different state | no | no | yes |
| Maine professional level special education endorsement, different age or category | no | no | no |
| Maine Elementary or Secondary general education professional level endorsement | yes | If no SED mentor at LEA | yes |
| Maine provisional level special education certification | no | no | yes |
| Maine transitional, targeted need, waivered special education certification that hasn’t yet expired | At LEA request | If no SED mentor at LEA | yes |
| Maine Conditional Certification in Special Education and | |||
| Has 2 courses or fewer remaining to complete cert requirements | no | If no SED mentor at LEA and new to teaching | yes |
| Has 1 course and 1 field experience course to complete certification, post-bac certificate or special education M. Ed. program | no | Program field placement supervisor, or MACM if LEA has no SED mentor | yes |
| Has more than 2 courses remaining to complete certification, post-bac certificate or special education M. Ed. program | yes | If no SED mentor at LEA | yes |
As soon as a newly conditionally certified special educator is hired, please contact me with the name and contact information for the following:
- Your new teacher
- A representative from your Certification Committee
- The building administrator
We intend to operate as a support for your district and new special educator during their first year, and expect to work with you to achieve this. If there is information you need immediately not covered in this message, please ask!
Thank you for your time, and I look forward to working with you,
Valerie M. Smith, Ph.D., Coordinator
Maine’s Alternative Certification Mentoring Program on behalf of Maine Department of Education, Office of Special Services.