Applications Open for 2025 Maine DOE Literacy and Numeracy Summer Institutes

The Maine Department of Education (DOE) Office of Teaching and Learning invites educators across Maine to apply for the 2025 Literacy and Numeracy Summer Institutes. These three-day, in-person professional learning experiences will occur from July 14–16, 2025, at the College of the Atlantic (COA) in Bar Harbor. Applications will close on May 27.

Designed for public school teachers, instructional coaches, administrators, and specialists across all grade levels and content areas, these immersive and hands-on institutes will bring together educators committed to strengthening interdisciplinary approaches to literacy or numeracy. Each participant will engage in deep content learning, hands-on collaboration, and the design of practical, real-world instructional experiences.

Participants will engage with local learning environments, including community gardens, the iconic Beatrix Farrand Gardens, the Dorr Museum of Natural History, Allied Whale, COA’s greenhouses and learning labs, the intertidal zone, and the vibrant community of Bar Harbor. They will explore high-impact instructional practices, investigate ways to connect content to students’ lives and communities, and help advance a statewide effort to promote meaningful, integrated learning across Maine classrooms.

Expectations of Participants
Educators selected to participate in the institute will:

• Attend the full three-day in-person experience.
• Collaborate with fellow educators to deepen their understanding of evidence-informed interdisciplinary literacy or numeracy practices.
• Create a high-quality learning task that reflects real-world application of literacy or numeracy concepts and meets the criteria to be made available on MOOSE (Maine Online Opportunities for Sustained Education).
• Have the opportunity to pilot the task during the 2025–2026 school year, providing feedback and contributing to shared statewide resources.

Participants will receive a stipend of $400 for successfully completing and posting the learning task, with an additional stipend available for those who choose to pilot the task and submit classroom feedback and instructional resources.

Logistics and Support
The Maine DOE will provide lodging and meals for all participants, and mileage reimbursement is available for attendees traveling more than 50 miles one way.

Apply Now
Applications are open now and will close on Monday, May 27, at 5 p.m. All applicants will be notified by Monday, June 2. Space is limited, and the Maine DOE will work to ensure that selected participants represent a diverse range of grade levels, geographic regions, and content areas from across the state.

Please use this link to apply.

For more information or with questions, please contact Maine DOE Chief of Teaching and Learning Officer Beth Lambert at beth.lambert@maine.gov.