Horace Mann, the pioneer of public education, called education “the great equalizer.” As a product of public schools myself, I believe that deeply. No matter where you live, what your family earns, or what school you attend, education can and should be the pathway to opportunity and a better future.
At a time when Donald Trump and leaders in Washington are threatening funding for public education, demonizing teachers, and politicizing our schools, Maine must do what we have always done. We must step up, invest in our students and teachers in a real way, and lead.
But we also have to be honest about where we are. Recent national data shows Maine ranking near the bottom in K–12 education, with some of the steepest declines in student learning in the country. Only 33% of Maine fourth graders are proficient in math and just 26% in reading, both below the national average. In some areas, Maine saw larger declines than any other state.
That is not acceptable. Not for our students, not for our families, and not for our future. We need an education system that delivers real results for students while fully supporting the educators who make it all possible.
My plan for Maine’s education future will:
- Expand investments in early childhood education
- Support the whole student with wraparound services
- Support and invest in Maine’s educators
- Deliver measurable results through evidence-based learning
- Drive innovation and expand opportunity
- Strengthen family engagement and partnership
Expand Investments in Early Childhood Education
In Maine, early childhood education is essential to both our schools and our economy. But the system is under significant strain. Too many children lack access to affordable, high-quality care and early learning opportunities. At the same time, providers are facing rising costs and funding gaps, putting programs and families at risk.
We know that high quality early childhood education improves school readiness, increases long-term earnings, and reduces the need for more costly interventions later on, all while enabling parents, especially women, to participate in the workforce. In this regard, early childhood education is economic policy, particularly given that more than two-thirds of young children in Maine have both of their parents in the workforce.
That’s why our affordability plan makes major investments in lowering costs for families, strengthening the early childhood workforce, and expanding access to care across the state – but there’s more we can do.
Within our education system, we will:
- Expand access to high-quality pre-K, with a strong focus on full-day programs and partnerships between public schools, child care providers, and Head Start
- Strengthen the early childhood workforce and better align early learning with our K–12 system by building clear training pipelines, improving compensation, and ensuring smoother transitions into kindergarten
- Improve early intervention and special education services so that children with additional needs are identified earlier and supported in the most appropriate setting
Support the Whole Student with Wraparound Services
If we want students to succeed in the classroom, we have to make sure they are supported outside of it. Too many students in Maine are showing up to school dealing with hunger, mental health challenges, and unfortunately with their basic needs unmet. These are significant barriers to learning, and they show up every day in our classrooms.
Food insecurity is a major challenge. Roughly 1 in 5 children in Maine is food insecure–the highest rate in New England. We cannot expect students to focus on learning if they do not know where their next meal is coming from. Across Maine, schools are already stepping up. In RSU 9 in Farmington, schools have created on-site food pantries, weekend meal programs, and partnerships to provide families with essentials like food, clothing, and health services. These efforts are making a real difference.
The research backs this up. When schools provide wraparound support like food access, health care, and family services, students attend more regularly, stay more engaged, and perform better academically. We must build on what is working.
That means expanding full-service community schools across Maine and investing further in:
- School-based food pantries and meal programs, as well as school meals, including breakfast and summer programs.
- School-based mental health services
- Partnerships that bring more health care and social services into schools
- After-school and summer learning programs
This is especially important in rural communities, where schools are often the center of daily life. When we take care of students’ basic needs, we give them a real chance to succeed in the classroom and beyond.
Support and Invest in Maine’s Educators
Our educators are doing some of the most important work in our state, and they deserve to be supported and compensated accordingly. Right now, Maine teachers are among the lowest paid in New England, with a starting salary of around $40,000, ranking 37th in the nation. Recently passed legislation will increase that starting salary to $50,000, which, while a step forward, still places Maine behind some other New England states. That is unacceptable. If we want students to succeed, we need to make sure educators have the support, resources, and respect to do their jobs well.
We will:
- Ensure teacher salaries are competitive and fair by regularly reviewing benchmarks and taking action to raise pay when Maine falls behind
- Provide additional annual pay for teachers in rural and hard-to-staff schools
- Expand incentives for educators in high-need subject areas like special education, STEM, and English language learning
But support is not just about pay. We will also:
- Expand access to high-quality professional development and instructional coaching
- Create stronger systems for educator feedback so teachers have a real voice in what is working and what is not
- Invest in mentorship and career pathways that help retain great teachers
- Launch pilot programs for strategic staffing models that are designed in partnership with educators and unions to strengthen teacher experience and retention, creating clear career pathways, increasing pay for experienced teachers, and ensuring every classroom has the support students need to succeed.
Deliver Results Through Evidence-Based Learning
We need to be clear: outcomes, measurable results, and accountability matters in our education system. Families deserve to know that their children are learning, growing, and prepared for the future. That means building a system grounded in what works and being honest about where we need to improve.
We will expand the use of evidence-based instruction, especially in early literacy. Maine has already taken steps toward implementing the science of reading, including developing a state action plan and investing in instructional materials and teacher training. But we need to go further and ensure strong, consistent implementation across the state.
We will:
- Adopt rigorous policies aligning classroom systems and practices with evidence based-reading instruction
- Provide ongoing training and support for educators in adopting these practices
- Ensure schools and teachers have access to high-quality, aligned instructional materials
We will also prioritize early intervention, because the earlier we identify challenges, the better the outcomes. Maine can and should build a system that uses data thoughtfully, supports educators and teachers, and helps students stay on track from the start.
That includes:
- Mandating universal reading screeners to identify students who need support early
- Targeted tutoring and interventions
- Individualized reading plans to help students stay on track
Drive Innovation and Expand Opportunity
Maine has the opportunity to be a national leader in education innovation, especially because our state includes both urban and deeply rural communities with very different needs. We should embrace that.
We will:
- Require every high school in the state to provide students the opportunity to earn postsecondary college or workforce credentials
- Provide funding so districts/schools can create proven career and technical education pathways, including for facilities upgrades and internship/apprenticeship programs for seniors.
- Expand research and pilot programs for microschools and non-traditional models, particularly in rural areas that remain underserved
- Encourage new approaches that better meet students where they are
At the same time, we need to expand pathways that connect education to opportunity. That includes strengthening dual enrollment programs so more students can graduate high school with college credits already completed. Every student in Maine should graduate with a clear path, whether that is college, career, or both.
We will:
- Increase participation in dual enrollment statewide
- Ensure credits are transferable and aligned with workforce needs
- Evaluate outcomes to ensure programs are delivering real value for students
Strengthen Family Engagement and Partnership
When families are engaged, students do better and educators are better supported. But right now in Maine, family engagement depends too much on the school you happen to attend. When families and educators work together, students are more likely to succeed. And every family, no matter where they live, should have the opportunity to be a full partner in their child’s education, and every educator should have the time and support to build those relationships well.
We will:
- Establish statewide standards and support systems for family engagement developed in partnership with educators
- Give schools and educators the tools, time, and resources to build strong relationships with families
- Ensure families have access to clear, accessible information about their child’s progress
- Ensure state test score reports are released within weeks, not months, so educators and families can collaborate sooner