This report describes ongoing efforts of the Maine Department of Education to encourage high school improvement through state-level actions. Three intertwined strategies have added value to the individual schools' improvement efforts, including: (1) the drafting of a statewide reform framework called Promising Futures; (2) the creation of a new…

Training Opportunities in the Private Sector (TOPS) was a small-scale, voluntary program operated as one among many employment-related options available to recipients of Aid to Families with Dependent Children in Maine's Work Incentive (WIN) Program. TOPS was distinguished from Maine's other WIN demonstration activities by three program elements.…

A pilot project was conducted in Bangor, Maine, to develop an entrepreneurship course and test it with secondary and postsecondary students. Following development of a plan and formation of an advisory committee composed of local entrepreneurs, bankers, representatives of economic development agencies, and legislators, a director was hired to…