The Maine Early Learning and Development Standards (MELDS) are the state’s learning standards for children ages three-five. Building from the Infant Toddler MELDS (IT MELDS) and bridging developmental expectations to the Maine Learning Results (MLRs), the MELDS inform all early childhood professionals about the typically developing expectations of young children as well as curriculum and assessment practices.
Over the past few years, the IT MELDS and MLRs have been updated. In order to ensure alignment across the sets of standards, it is time to update the MELDS which were last updated in 2015.
To guide the update process, a steering committee of early childhood professionals from around Maine has been formed and is interested in collecting feedback about the current version of the MELDS. All interested early care and education stakeholders (e.g., childcare providers, parents, teachers, ed techs, administrators) are encouraged to complete this feedback survey no later than November 6, 2022. Input will inform the next steps in the updating process.
In the new year, early care and education stakeholders will be encouraged to consider contributing their expertise to writing teams that will assist with the updating process. The goal is to have the MELDS update completed by July 2023.
If you have any questions, please contact the Department of Education’s Early Childhood Specialist, Nicole.Madore@maine.gov or the Office of Child and Family Services Child Care Services Program Manager, Crystal.Arbour@maine.gov
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