Officials at the regional and national levels of the organization won’t say why the Portland and Bangor chapters are classified as inactive.
Noel K. Gallagher
Noel Gallagher covers K-12 and higher education issues statewide. Her stories are a mix of breaking news and trend stories. In recent years, they’ve ranged from why college costs so much, the launch of the state’s first charter schools, how a school welcomed a transgender student and why Maine schools have a hard time finding teachers. She’s enough of a news nerd to enjoy sitting through legislative education committee meetings and hours-long school board meetings so you don’t have to.
The Maine Press Association has honored Noel’s work, but she says she writes for the readers, in the firm belief that an informed citizenry is key to a healthy democracy.
Noel is a California native who has worked at wire services, online websites and newspapers across the country. She was in Washington D.C. during the early Clinton years, covering AIDS activism in 1990s San Francisco, documenting the business of wine in Sonoma County and riding out the boom and bust cycle of the early Internet era in early 2000s Silicon Valley. She arrived in Maine at the beginning of the recession and wrote quite a bit about the downturn here.
In her free time, Noel writes the occasional cookbook review, spends an inordinate amount of time at the Portland Public Library and hangs out with her three fabulous kids and wonderful husband. She is not a former member of the band Oasis.
Maine scores higher than national average on ‘Nation’s Report Card’
A dip in the state’s score from last year’s National Assessment of Educational Progress test reflects a national trend.
Two groups pitch charter school proposals to Maine commission
Snow Pond Arts Academy would be a performing arts high school in Sidney, and Acadia Academy would open a pre-K-through-sixth-grade charter school in the Lewiston-Auburn area.
Portland School Board race: Brother and sister challenge incumbents
The challengers face off against the board’s chairwoman and District 1 representative.
Complaint, probe apparently led to resignation of longtime city official Rachel Talbot Ross
Portland won’t provide details, but records show the multicultural affairs director was put on leave a day after an apparent dispute with workers at a private parking lot.
Portland school officials study capital improvements
They plan to overhaul the district’s multi-year plan to come up with a new list of priorities.
Maine’s acting education commissioner reverses creationism comment
During a debate in 2010, then-gubernatorial candidate Bill Beardsley said he supported teaching creationism in school. On Monday, he said he doesn’t think schools should teach it.
Maine’s high school graduation rate above national average
The state ranks 16th in the nation and is one of 36 that saw increases in the overall graduation rate.
Maine high schoolers flock to early college programs
Participation is at a record level as various courses give students a way to cut tuition costs, get a taste of what’s ahead or help decide whether to pursue a degree.
Former Husson University President William Beardsley named acting Maine education commissioner
He briefly served as the state’s conservation commissioner in 2011-12.