Commissioner Bowen

“We've got to reach every single student we serve and ensure that every single one of them walks out of our schools as high school graduates who are ready for college, careers and civic life. Not some students, not even most students, but all students. Every single child.”

-- Commissioner Bowen, at the release of "Education Evolving: Maine's Plan for Putting Learners First," Jan. 17, 2012

Stephen Bowen was sworn in as Commissioner of the Maine Department of Education on March 4, 2011.

He immediately embarked on a statewide listening tour, meeting with teachers and principals, superintendents, parents, students and others to discuss the challenges they face, what they appreciate about Maine's education system, and what they think needs to change.

Commissioner Bowen and Department of Education staff used the feedback in developing a strategic plan for improving the education of Maine students. The result is "Education Evolving: Maine's Plan for Putting Learners First," which articulates a plan for designing an education system built around the needs of students, not existing administrative structures.

Before joining the Department of Education, Commissioner Bowen directed the Center for Education Excellence at the Maine Heritage Policy Center, a Portland-based public policy think tank. In nearly four years there, he researched and wrote dozens of policy briefs on issues from school district consolidation and school funding to online learning and charter schools; authored numerous op eds, columns, and blog posts on education-related issues; and regularly presented the findings of his research to policymakers and the public.

Commissioner Bowen taught social studies in middle and high schools for 10 years in Fairfax County, Va., and then in Camden, Maine, prior to joining the Heritage Policy Center. He taught in Fairfax County from 1997 to 2000, where he was part of that state’s development of a standards-based approach to education. At Camden-Rockport Middle School, he taught social studies and was there when the internationally recognized Maine Learning Technology Initiative was first implemented, with the deployment of laptops to eighth graders in the fall of 2003.

In 2002, he was elected to the first of two terms in the Maine House of Representatives, representing Camden and Rockport. During that time, he served on the Marine Resources and State and Local Government committees, and the Select Committee on Regionalization and Community Cooperation. He served on the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee during his second term in the House.

Commissioner Bowen served briefly as Gov. Paul LePage's senior policy adviser on education before he was nominated and confirmed as Commissioner of Education.

Commissioner Bowen holds a B.A. in Political Science from Drew University and a Masters of Education from George Mason University.

• From the Commissioner, Commissioner Bowen’s blog
• Commissioner Bowen on Twitter
• Education Evolving: Maine's Plan for Putting Learners First

Contact

Stephen Bowen, Commissioner
Maine Department of Education
23 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333
207-624-6620
commish.doe@maine.gov