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An increasing number of Portland High School students are participating in the school’s internship program and additional businesses are partnering with PHS to offer internships. Nearly 50 students are participating in internships in many different fields this school year.

The Deering High School Players are set to stage an enthralling rendition of Reginald Rose's classic drama, "12 Angry Jurors." Under the guidance of Mr. Joshua Chard, 2024 Maine Teacher of the Year and Deering drama director, the Deering Players promise a compelling performance on Friday, Dec. 1, at 7 PM, and Saturday, Dec. 2, at 3 PM and 7. Suggested donation is $5+, Free for Deering students.

At its Nov. 14 meeting, the Portland Board of Public Education held a caucus to take an informal vote to select new leaders for the coming year. The Board unanimously chose current Board Chair Sarah Lentz to lead the Board again and also unanimously endorsed current Vice Chair Micky Bondo to continue in that role for the next year.

The Foundation for Portland Public Schools (FPPS) announced Oct. 31 that it is awarding $64,299 to Portland Public Schools staff members through the FPPS Equity and Innovation Grant program. Seventy-three teachers, ed techs, librarians, and other staff members will receive up to $1,250 each for classroom resources and experiences such as robotics clubs, purchasing math manipulatives, attending concerts, or bringing in guest lecturers. These grants will benefit thousands of students from preK through Portland Adult Education in 16 schools across the district. This year is the 15th year of the Equity and Innovation Grants Program.

Superintendent Ryan Scallon has issued a letter to the PPS community regarding the tragic shootings in Lewiston on Oct. 25. 

An update on the progress that the Portland Public Schools is making on developing and implementing a Wabanaki Studies curriculum and a Local Black History curriculum was presented at the Board of Public Education's Sept. 19 meeting. Both curricula are essential to help students gain an accurate, full and inclusive history of their state and nation. Both curricula also offer opportunities for interdisciplinary learning across all content areas, not just social studies.

Students in the Portland Arts & Technology High School (PATHS) dance program have been working on THE SEA WE SEE, a project that will culminate in a pop-up performance on Saturday, Oct. 14, at 2 p.m. on the Eastern Promenade. The piece, which explores themes of climate change and its effects on coastal communities, will be performed between the baseball field and the flagpole/tennis courts.

October is National Principals Month and the Portland Public Schools is taking this opportunity to shine a spotlight on our principals, who are super. We celebrate and appreciate them not only this month but always! To showcase them, we have asked our principals to answer five questions about themselves and their leadership role. We also asked what superpower they'd like to have to aid in their jobs.We're featuring each principal individually during this month. Read on to learn more about Super Principal Sheila Jepson of Portland High School

How can we support and guide our kids safely through the challenges of the “digital wilderness”? During a Portland Public Schools Parent University session titled “Left to Their Own Devices,” and scheduled for 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 11, we’ll look at some reasons behind this difficult-to-navigate journey for parents and how to support media balance and well-being.

Three Portland Board of Public Education seats are up for election Nov. 7: an at-large seat and the District 4 and District 5 seats. Only the at-large seat is contested on the ballot.

The Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has begun mailing out Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) cards to Maine families, and some parents are understandably reaching out with questions. Here are some answers.

The Portland Public Schools’ Multilingual and Multicultural Center will host Beyond Borders: A Conference on Migration and Integration on Sept. 27 at the University of Southern Maine.

The Portland Public Schools is participating in Special Provision II and Community Eligible Provision for the 2023-2024 school year. This alternative is referred to as Provision II and CEP.  All students enrolled in all of Portland’s public schools except the Portland Arts and Technology High School (PATHS) may participate in the School Breakfast Program and the National School Lunch Program at no charge. Household applications are not required to receive free meals this school year but forms similar to applications may be distributed by the school and the district to collect household income data for other programs that require this information, such as Federal Title programs.

Three Portland Public Schools students have been named as Semifinalists in the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program: Adrian Darlington, Caden Hemond and Matan Schoenfeld, all seniors at Portland High School.

Portland Public Schools Custodial Supervisor Steve Reed has written a poem to send a welcome back message from custodians for the 2023-2024 school year. “I thought that it might give teachers and other staff some insight into how we feel about them and our students,” Reed said.

All City Management Services is looking for “local superheroes” to become crossing guards serving Portland Public Schools students.

This summer, approximately 100 Portland Public Schools students were busy with internships that helped them explore a variety of potential careers that ranged from lobstering to engineering.

Julia Hazel, the district’s director of BIPOC career pathways and leadership development, is a recipient of the 2023 Maine Black Excellence Awards, presented by The Third Place on Aug. 13. Hazel received the Compass Career Award, which recognizes individuals who accomplish a standout achievement in their workplace or sector. 

The first day of school for students in grades 1-12 is Wednesday, Sept. 6. That day will be a full day of school, not an early release day. Thursday, Sept. 7, is the start date for pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students.

The Portland Public Schools accepts funding through the Elementary and Secondary Act (ESEA) of 1965. As part of ESEA, the district is required to provide reasonable opportunity for public comment on the consolidated application and consider such comment prior to the submission of the application. Portland is accepting public comment on the ESEA application through July 25, 2023. Click here for a description of proposed programming. Click here to share your thoughts about the application’s goals and priorities.

At its June 20 meeting, the Board of Public Education approved an adjustment to the 2023-2024 school year calendar that makes Tuesday, Sept. 5, a day for staff training and moves the first day of school for students in grades 1-12 to Wednesday, Sept. 6. That day will be a full day of school, not an early release day.

The Board of Public Education has unanimously approved a resolution that directs the superintendent to establish a program for all non-ESOL (English for speakers of other languages) educators to acquire some form of an ESOL credential to better serve the district’s growing number of multilingual students. The vote took place at the Board’s June 20 meeting.

The program would be phased in, with substantial progress expected over the next four years, the resolution states. It also says that the Board pledges to provide “the resources and support necessary to ensure all educators in PPS have or acquire some form of an ESOL credential, certification, or micro-credential.” Details on how the program will function in practice remain to be worked out collaboratively with educators.

The Portland Public Schools will be operating various summer meal sites across the city of Portland this summer. Meals and times will be posted at sites and maps have been distributed to students at school.  School Sites will begin operation on June 26, 2023 or July 5, 2023 and continue through August 4, 2023, and some through August 11, 2023, Monday- Friday. Community sites will operate from June 26, 2023 to August 18, 2023, Monday –Friday.

As an inclusive, welcoming school district, the Portland Public Schools will participate in the Pride Portland! Parade on Saturday, June 17.

“As has become our tradition, the Portland Public Schools will join in the parade to celebrate our LGBTQ+ staff, students, families and other partners and all their contributions to our schools and community,” said Interim Co-Superintendents Melea Nalli and Aaron Townsend. “Unfortunately, there have been an unprecedented number of bills targeting LGTBQ+ rights throughout the U.S. this year. It is important that our district participates to reiterate our commitment to supporting our PPS LGBTQ+ community.  We will once again have a float entry in the parade – a yellow school bus! – and we invite staff, students, families and other supporters to join us in marching.”