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The Southwestern Maine Activities Association (SMAA) held their annual Citizenship Banquet at the Italian Heritage Club early in April. Two Portland High School seniors, Anneliese Collin and Louis Thurston, were among students who received Citizenship Awards at the banquet.

Portland High School art educator Elise Pelletier has been named 2025 Art Educator of the Year by the Maine Art Education Association (MAEA). In March, Pelletier attended the national Art Education Association convention in Louisville, Kentucky, where she received her award. 

At its April 8 meeting, the Board of Public Education unanimously approved a 2025-2026 district calendar that includes Yom Kippur and Eid al-Fitr as new district holidays. Starting in the fall, students and staff at the Portland Public Schools, Maine’s most diverse school district, can observe those major religious holidays with their families without having to miss school. 

The Portland Board of Public Education voted on April 8 to approve a $171.7 million school budget for the 2025-2026 school year to recommend to the City Council. The Board’s fiscal year 2026 budget focuses on strengthening student experiences and outcomes and is directly aligned to the new Strategic Plan. The Board’s recommended FY26 budget now goes to the City Council, which moves forward its bottom line. A final Council vote on the school budget is anticipated on May 19 and it will go to voters on June 10.

As of April 1, the PPS Food Service team has been serving halal meals as a daily lunch option. Halal refers to foods that are permissible for Muslims to consume. Halal foods are free of ingredients like pork or alcohol, and comply with rules and standards around preparation and cleanliness. PPS halal meals are healthy, more inclusive menu items that all students can enjoy – not just students who follow a halal way of eating. 

Three seniors – Kaia West of Portland High School, Khalid Mahamed of Deering High School and Andrew Box of Casco Bay High School – have been selected by their principals for the annual MPA Principal's Award recognizing high school seniors for achievements in academics and citizenship!

Congratulations to seven Portland Public Schools seniors for having been named 2025 National Merit Finalists by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. Those students are Deering High School students Violet Blum Levine, Anja Machado, and Asa Tussing; and Portland High School students Madeline Butters, Lawrence "Calvin" Foster, Dvora Katz and Alexander Price. Less than 0.4 percent of all high school seniors nationwide receive this recognition of academic achievement and potential.

The Portland Arts and Technology High School (PATHS) is inviting rising juniors and seniors from its 14 sending schools to sign up now for its new Outdoor Education & Leadership Program, which starts this fall. The program will provide hands-on learning experiences in wilderness survival, team-building, environmental stewardship, and outdoor guiding, preparing students for industry certifications and post-secondary opportunities in related fields. It also will help students learn leadership, problem-solving, and risk-management skills.

Two students in the Commercial & Advertising Art program at the Portland Arts and Technology High School (PATHS) have been recognized on the national level for their artwork by the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards program. Nola Delcourt, a Casco Bay High School senior, won a National Gold Medal for exceptional work in the “Editorial Cartoon” category with her work titled, “The Fast Food Underbelly.” Zsa Zsa Dolley, whose sending school is Gorham High School, was awarded a National Silver Medal for exceptional work in the “Painting” category with her work titled “The Pains of the Artist."

The Foundation for Portland Public Schools is excited to announce the opening of the Rosenthal Museum of Natural History at Portland High School. Sam Rosenthal, Portland High School class of 1971, has donated a collection of fossils that includes ammonites, ancient alligator jaws, the massive teeth of megalodon, and dinosaur bones. The museum is open to Portland Public Schools educators and students. 

Join us for Sips, Sweets, and Stories, the Portland Public Schools’ Make It Happen spring fundraiser! This unforgettable cultural tasting experience will take place on April 16 at Ocean Gateway Pier from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. All funds will go to support of Make It Happen, a program that provides multilingual students with a pathway to academic success and college readiness.

This is the 11th year of this yearly event that showcases and expands PPS students’ STEM knowledge and exposes them to exciting career opportunities in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering, and math.

You're invited to join the conversation on the proposed FY26 school budget! Portland families, staff, students, and community members—the Portland Board of Public Education's Conversations with the Community events are your chance to meet with Board members and Superintendent Ryan Scallon to ask questions, share your thoughts, and discuss the budget and the future of our schools. Attend one of the in-person events in March (check out the schedule in the graphic above) or join us virtually on April 2! Virtual link: tinyurl.com/PPS4225

The Portland Public Schools will host a Student Summit for high school students on March 25 at the University of Southern Maine. This summit is an opportunity to empower students to share their voices—to express what they want their educational experience to be like and how we can improve. Their insights will directly inform school goals for the 2025-2026 school year. 

Two candidates have qualified to be on the ballot June 10 to fill a vacant seat on the Portland Board of Public Education: retired PPS music teacher Jayne Sawtelle and building contractor and PPS parent Cassidy LaCroix. They are vying for an at-large seat vacated by Benjamin Grant, who was elected to the City Council this past November.

Through a new partnership between Associated General Contractors of Maine (AGC Maine) and the Portland Arts and Technology High School (PATHS), PPS students aged 16-20 have the opportunity to attend the Maine Construction Academy this summer. This free, four-week program, running from July 8 to Aug. 4 and based at PATHS, is students’ gateway to a hands-on, high-energy training program designed to enable students to launch a rewarding career in the booming construction industry.

It's Youth Art Month and in collaboration with the Maine Art Education Association, the PMA is hosting its yearly exhibit of artwork from students from around Maine in kindergarten through grade 12. This year, the Portland Public Schools has the largest showing of young artists of any district!

Superintendent Ryan Scallon on March 4 presented the Portland Board of Public Education with a recommended $171.7 million budget for the 2025-2026 school year. The FY26 budget was developed after extensive engagement with the community, staff and school leadership, and proposes strengthening the music program at the high schools, increased rigor and support at the middle schools, adding reading support at the elementary schools, and additional staffing and programmatic support for special education district-wide. The proposed budget would raise the school portion of property taxes by 5.3%, resulting in an increase of $210 per year or $17.5 per month for the owner of a median-priced home.

The Automotive Technology program at the Portland Arts and Technology High School (PATHS) has received ASE Training Program accreditation by the ASE Education Foundation. The accreditation enhances employment opportunities for students in the program and enables dual enrollment with colleges.

On January 7, a panel of women working in STEM fields spoke to students at Portland High School about what it’s like to work in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The event, held in teacher Rosalee Lamm's physics and engineering classroom, was open to all students, with a focus on strategies for success, and challenges specific to women and nonbinary people working in STEM. 

The Ed Feeney Athletics Fund was created last year to allow any interested PPS students to participate in school sports – even if their family is unable to purchase the necessary athletic equipment. So far, more than 180 high school and middle school students have benefited.

All PPS high school seniors and their parents are invited to attend FAFSA Nights this month at Deering High School and Portland High School for assistance completing the online FAFSA form. FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Representatives from the Finance Authority of Maine (FAME), high school guidance counselors, and Make It Happen! staff will be on hand to provide processing support. Interpretation will be available.

On Monday, December 9, 2024, high school leaders came together and drafted an organizational structure for the high school community that honors our district's Portrait of a Graduate and Portrait of a School Community. This structure also addresses key areas outlined in the Integrated Consolidated 9-16 Educational Facility application. Read on to view the drafted organizational structure of the school community. While we will make space for feedback and revisions, this framework provides the foundation to build out and refine the rest of the design.

Board of Public Education Chair Sarah Lentz presented the annual State of the Schools address to the City Council at its 5 p.m. meeting on Monday, Dec. 16, in the Council Chambers at City Hall. The City Charter requires that the Board chair deliver an annual address to the Council on the state of Portland’s public education system.

One returning Board member, two new members and five student representatives were sworn in at the Portland Board of Public Education’s Dec. 3 Inauguration Ceremony. The Board also voted for Sarah Lentz to serve for the third consecutive time as Board chair for the coming year and for Abusana “Micky” Bondo to be vice chair for a third year.