Dirigo Schools of Distinction (DSD) is intended to celebrate Maine schools that are making a meaningful difference for students, staff, and communities. DSD also offers a clear, supportive roadmap for schools and School Administrative Units (SAUs) as they consider where to focus time, energy, and resources to strengthen student outcomes.
Apply for Recognition
Every year, schools may apply to be recognized for excellence in one of seven DSD pillars. Participating schools complete an online application containing the rubric for the pillar to which they are applying. Application submissions are due by January 30 of each year.
Through extensive conversations and data collection across the state, the Measure What Matters initiative identified the conditions, practices, and outcomes that Mainers consistently value and have deemed most important in their public schools. From this data, a report was published and used to create a framework called "Dirigo Schools of Distinction." That framework is organized into several pillars, each with a set of indicators that reflect the priorities voiced by Mainers.
Critical Life Skills & Maine's Guiding Principles
Across all pillars, DSD emphasizes a set of critical life skills identified through the Measure What Matters initiative and aligned closely with Maine's Guiding Principles.
Critical Life Skills
- Adaptability
- Collaboration
- Communication
- Creativity
- Critical Thinking
- Metacognition
- Resilience
- Self-Management
- Technical Skills
Maine's Guiding Principles
- Clear and Effective Communicator
- Self-Directed and Lifelong Learner
- Creative and Practical Problem Solver
- Responsible and Involved Citizen
- Integrative and Informed Thinker
DSD is intended to recognize and highlight schools that nurture these skills and principles through effective programming, policies, and strategies, and encourages the sharing of those practices across the state.
The Seven Pillars of Excellence
The Dirigo Schools of Distinction rubric contains seven pillars of excellence that recognize schools for the following:
Academics & Instructional Practices
Providing students with opportunities to achieve the Maine Learning Results through practices that support accelerated learning programs, multiple pathways to graduation, experiential and project-based learning, and the use of assessments to guide instruction.
Community & Family Engagement
Fostering positive, productive relationships with families and members of the community through clear and consistent communication, partnerships, and serving as a hub for activities and events.
Health & Wellness
Prioritizing the physical, mental, and emotional health and safety of students and staff.
Culture & Climate
Promoting a sense of belonging and inclusion among students, staff, and family and community members, resulting in an engaging, positive, and welcoming environment.
Innovation & Innovative Practices
Embracing and encouraging innovation in curriculum, facilities, practices, and resources.
School Leadership, Educators & Staff
Fostering a strong workplace culture in which educators and staff feel valued, have opportunities to strengthen their craft via professional development, and develop leadership skills in an effort to provide students with the best possible education.
Student Engagement
Encouraging student engagement inside and outside of the classroom, ensuring that students feel as though they are part of a greater community and find value in connecting and engaging with their peers.
An advisory committee made up of representatives from the public education field and overseen by the Maine Department of Education (DOE) reviews application submissions and ultimately selects awardees.
Eligibility
To be eligible to apply for a DSD pillar, a school must first complete the Outcomes and Continuous Growth section of the rubric. Many of the listed Measures are data points that are already collected for state reporting every year.
A participating school may mark "Outcomes" if it has achieved the Measure. If a school has not achieved the Measure but has seen significant improvement in that area, it may mark "Continuous Growth" with a brief supporting narrative (no more than 100 words).
Elementary schools must achieve three of these Outcomes/Continuous Growth Measures to be eligible for a pillar. Middle and high schools must achieve five.
Scoring
Once a school has determined its eligibility, it can apply for a DSD pillar. Each pillar contains multiple indicators based on the data and information collected during the Measure What Matters initiative. Leaders from the public education field collaborated to assign a Priority Multiplier (1–3) to each indicator to determine its comparative value and weight in the rubric.
The Priority Multiplier is multiplied by an Evidence of Practice Measure (1–3), which the applying school self-assigns and explains through a brief narrative (no more than 100 words):
Evidence of Practice Measure
- 1 – Emerging: there is some training for or use of the indicator at the school.
- 2 – Partially in place: there is schoolwide training for or use of the indicator at the school.
- 3 – Universally in place / generalized among staff and students: there is consistent schoolwide training for or use of the indicator at the school that has resulted in positive outcomes.
SAUs with multiple schools in a grade span (elementary, middle, or high school) may submit a single application for all schools in that grade span. In this case, Outcomes/Continuous Growth Measures and Evidence of Practice Measures for the selected pillar should be averaged across participating schools.
The advisory committee reviews submissions and calculates a final total score. To be recognized for a DSD pillar, a school must achieve at least 90% of the total possible score as marked on the rubric. The total possible scores for each pillar may vary slightly for elementary versus middle and high school level.
Schools that are recognized for a DSD pillar will earn a DSD Badge of Excellence for that school year and be celebrated during a statewide event in the spring.
Acknowledging that work is always underway to achieve best practices in public education, the DSD pillars and corresponding indicators are reviewed by the advisory committee every spring.