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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.”

Co-Superintendents Aaron Townsend and Melea Nalli and Board of Public Education Chair Sarah Lentz issued statements of gratitude in response to  city voters’ overwhelming approval June 13 of the Portland Public Schools’ $143.8 million budget for fiscal year 2024.

Juneteenth falls this year on Monday, June 19. That day will be a paid holiday for all regular district employees. Portland’s public schools and district offices will be closed on Monday, June 19, in observance of the holiday.

Juneteenth National Independence Day is the nation's newest federal holiday. It was signed into law on June 17, 2021, by President Joe Biden. Maine also designates June 19 each year as an official state holiday.

The Portland Public Schools' network now has been restored as of late morning, Monday, June 12. Internet and phones should now be operating normally. The IT department will continue to monitor services.

More than 40 Portland Public Schools retiring employees were honored by the Portland Board of Public Education and the district in a ceremony on Tuesday, June 6. Those recognized have served throughout the district and held a wide variety of roles in service of our students and families. The 2022-2023 school year retirees include administrators, teachers, educational technicians, administrative assistants and secretaries, transportation employees, custodians, a guidance counselor, a speech therapist, a payroll manager, an academic enrichment specialist and the district’s facilities director. The retirees have collectively given nearly 1,000 years of dedicated service to the Portland Public Schools.

Since 2015, the Portland Public Schools has had a "float" in the Pride Portland events - a yellow PPS bus!  As a welcoming, inclusive school district, we proudly affirm and stand with our LGBTQ+ students, staff and families.

This year Pride events are on Saturday, June 17. The parade kicks off at 1 p.m. and the entire PPS community is welcome to participate! Students, staff, Board of Public Education members and families can all come march with PPS in the parade, and either walk in front of the bus or ride the bus! Wear your PPS gear if you have some – from any school – to represent PPS.

Portland High School, one of the oldest operating public high schools in the United States, held its 202nd graduation exercises on Wednesday, June 7, at Merrill Auditorium. The late morning ceremony included remarks by Portland Interim Co-Superintendents Aaron Townsend and Melea Nalli and Portland High Principal Sheila Jepson, speeches and musical performances by students and the presentation of awards and diplomas.

Following a nationwide search, the Portland Board of Public Education has selected Dr. Ryan Scallon, currently an assistant superintendent in the School District of Philadelphia, to become the next superintendent of the Portland Public Schools. Scallon, who holds a doctorate degree in education, was one of two finalists for the position. The Board is scheduled to vote on Scallon’s appointment at its June 6 meeting. His official start date will be July 1.

The district’s sixth annual Seal of Biliteracy Ceremony was held on May 17 at Deering High School. As Maine’s largest and most diverse school district, the Portland Public Schools is very proud of initiating this award. There were 66 Seal recipients this year – 40 percent more than last year and the most since the award began.

Baleria Yugu is the 2023 recipient of the Portland High School Step Up Award. The Step Up Award at Portland High School provides funding for students in the Make It Happen! program who would otherwise have to forego school-year extracurricular opportunities in order to work after school and/or on weekends. Baleria, a rising junior at Portland High School, will receive $1,250 per semester until graduation for her last two years of high school. The Step Up Award was created by Ann and Bill Weber, parents of two Portland High School graduates.

After a nationwide search, the Portland Board of Public Education has narrowed the pool of applicants for the position of superintendent of the Portland Public Schools down to two finalists. They are Eric Moore, currently senior advisor to the superintendent of Minneapolis Public Schools, and Dr. Ryan Scallon, who is an assistant superintendent in the School District of Philadelphia. Scallon holds a doctorate degree in education and Moore is on track to earn his doctorate in education later this year.

Now that the field has been narrowed down, key stakeholders, including members of the Portland Board of Public Education, staff, students, parents and other community members, will interview them on May 17 and 18. The interviews with students, parents and community members will be live-streamed and recorded for public viewing.

On Thursday, April 27, the City Council’s Finance Committee voted unanimously to recommend the Portland Board of Public Education’s $143.8 million school budget for the 2023-2024 school year to the full City Council. Members of that Council committee praised the collaborative way the district and Board worked with councilors to craft the FY24 budget and said they appreciated the efforts to meet student and staff needs while reining in costs.

On April 24, the Portland Board of Public Education presented its recommended $143.8 million school budget for the 2023-2024 school year to the City Council. Board Chair Sarah Lentz and Interim Co-Superintendents Aaron Townsend and Melea Nalli, who jointly made the presentation, told the Council that the budget is a fair and responsible one at a time of daunting fiscal challenges. “This budget reinvests in core operations such as finance and human resources, while also investing in student-facing staff to support all of our students, including our many newly arrived multi-language learners,” they said. “Within this budget, we’ve also done our best to anticipate and plan for the FY25 budget, when the district will no longer have access to federal COVID money and will likely face decreased funding from the state level. This budget does all that while simultaneously being mindful of the tax burden on Portland residents in a year when inflation is higher than most can remember.”

The Portland Board of Public Education voted unanimously on April 11 to approve a $143.8 million FY24 school budget to recommend to the City Council. The Board’s budget will enable the district to maintain its Portland Promise gains for the 2023-2024 school year, support students and staff and improve operational effectiveness, while being cognizant of Portland taxpayers. The Board will present its recommended budget to the City Council on April 24. The Council will vote on the school budget in May and send it to voters on June 13.