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Portland High School senior Ramona Rowe will start college next year with a huge life accomplishment already checked off: She’s a published novelist. Ramona recently had her first full-length novel published through The Telling Room. Titled “Factory Town,” it’s a science fiction novel set in Worcester, Mass., where she has family roots

Hannaford Supermarkets and the Portland Public Schools have teamed up to launch a new school-based food pantry at Portland High School — which officially opened Sept. 16. The pantry will expand food access for students and their families in need. As many as 500 students are expected to use the pantry each month. Hannaford donated $10,000 to the school to fully renovate the space, purchase refrigeration and storage, and stock the shelves with fresh, nutritious food options for students. 

The Foundation for Portland Public Schools (FPPS) is thrilled to announce that it has received a $1 million donation, half of which is earmarked for supporting arts and music education in the Portland Public Schools system. The donation, made by anonymous donors through the Maine Community Foundation, will allow FPPS to build on existing arts and music programs and launch a new arts partnership. The remaining $500,000 from this generous donation is an unrestricted gift to FPPS.

Portland High School Class of 2025 member Dvora Katz is one of just four Maine students to be the most recent winners of National Merit Scholarships financed by the U.S. colleges and universities they plan to attend. The awards range from between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years.

More than 30 Portland Public Schools employees are retiring this school year. The retirees were honored by the Portland Board of Public Education and the district in a ceremony on Tuesday, June 10. Those recognized have served throughout the district and held a wide variety of roles in service of students and families.

Superintendent Ryan Scallon and Board of Public Education Chair Sarah Lentz issued a statement expressing gratitude to City voters for their decisive approval June 10 of the Portland Public Schools’ budget for fiscal year 2026. Voters also elected retired Portland High School music teacher Jayne Sawtelle to a vacant at-large Board seat.

Portland High School, one of the oldest operating public high schools in the United States, held its 204th graduation exercises on Wednesday, June 4, at Merrill Auditorium. The late morning ceremony included remarks by Superintendent Ryan Scallon and Portland High Principal Sheila Jepson, speeches and musical performances by students and the presentation of awards and diplomas. 

The Portland Public schools will be operating various summer meal sites at 11 locations across the city of Portland this summer. All children and teens 18 years and younger can receive a nutritious meal free of charge to be enjoyed on site. Most sites will begin serving on Wednesday, June 25. Meals will be provided on a first-come, first-serve basis. Children and teens can attend any of the meal site locations convenient to them.

High school graduation exercises for the Portland Public Schools Class of 2025 will all take place at Merrill Auditorium. The district’s three high schools will hold their commencement ceremonies on June 4 and 5.

The City Council voted unanimously on May 19 to approve the $171.8 million 2025-2026 school year budget recommended by the Portland Board of Public Education. The vote now sends the budget to City voters on June 10. The budget balances fiscal constraints with necessary investments to increase academic rigor, foster a joyful and supportive school culture and help provide more effective instruction to students with disabilities. It would raise the school portion of the property tax rate by 5.33 percent ($0.42 per $1,000 of assessed value). For the owner of a median-priced $500,000 home, the budget would increase property taxes by $210 per year or $17.50 per month.

The New England Environmental Finance Center (NEEFC) at the University of Southern Maine is working with the Portland Public Schools (PPS) on a comprehensive environmental audit and action plan to reduce waste and improve sustainability in 17 of the district’s elementary, middle and high schools. 

Portland High School senior Madeline Butters has won a $2,500 National Merit Scholarship, and now is officially a Merit Scholar. She is one of just eight Maine seniors to be awarded that scholarship and among 2,500 Merit Scholars chosen from a nationwide talent pool of more than 15,000 outstanding Finalists in the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program.

Portland High School has a new head football coach: Nick Cliche, who has been the school’s assistant head football coach for the past two years and has extensive coaching experience prior to that.

An inaccurate May 1 story by News Center Maine (WCSH6) about the meeting that night of the district's Attendance Boundaries Advisory Committee has generated confusion regarding Lincoln Middle School. At the district's request, WCSH6 has retracted the news report. Please view the following communication from the Portland Public Schools that addresses the inaccuracies and clarifies the role of the Advisory Committee: