Some are upset to get the news by voicemail, while the Muskie school is targeted for deep cuts.
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 Virtual Academy changes business model
The proposed virtual charter school has taken some of the poower away from K12, the controversial national vendor.
Language arts dying out at USM
The decision to cut French and three faculty jobs means Spanish and the Classics programs are set to end too. Part-timers will teach some courses.
Trustees vote to cut two programs at USM
The master’s program in applied medical sciences and the undergraduate French program are eliminated by the University of Maine System board of trustees.
State’s business leaders set education goals
Educate Maine’s report tracks 10 key education indicators and notes critical deficiencies, such as the fact that fewer than half of high school juniors are considered proficient in reading and mathematics.
UMaine hopes to cut $7 million without layoffs
The system’s flagship campus presents proposed cuts that would trim the $242.2 million budget without cutting programs or employees.
Charter school committee recommends second virtual school
The full commission will vote Wednesday on whether the application of Maine Virtual Academy should move on for review.
GI Bill started the steady march to college for all
After World War II, the decades brought not only wider access to higher education but also new rationales for pursuing it.
College costs: A student, a professor and parents tell their stories
Debt accrues quickly, making jobs a priority and putting pressure on parents.
Cost of higher education draining Mainers
Soaring student debt impacts the economy, with graduates putting off life investments as they struggle to repay loans.