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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. 

Each year, the University of Southern Maine’s Walter E. Russell Chair in Philosophy and Education honors a Deering High School educator who embodies the core values of the teaching profession – someone who ignites a passion for discovery in students, engages in the school’s ongoing life, and brings creativity and innovation to the classroom. This year’s honoree is special education teacher Margaret Hoyt.

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. 

The Casco Bay High School Mock Trial Team is very grateful to a Portland law firm for its generous support as the team heads to a national competition in May. “Thank you to Murray Plumb & Murray for sponsoring the Casco Bay High School Mock Trial team at the superior solicitors level,” said Jake McNally, Casco Bay math teacher and Mock Trial coach. 

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.

Students at Casco Bay High School and Rowe Elementary School have won $500 Painting for a Purpose grants for community service projects they plan for each of their schools.

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.

Dr. Grace Valenzuela, a Portland Public Schools administrator and long-time education and social justice advocate for multilingual students and families, was honored on International Women’s Day for her work to expand opportunities for students.

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!

A group of students at King Middle School has won a $500 Painting for a Purpose Grant for a cross-cultural learning “Our History” project. The goal of the project is to showcase different cultures through food, music and dance, art, language and geography through a Culture Day. The project is designed to be inclusive so all students can learn from it.

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 CBHS Mock Trial team made it to the championships of the Maine State Mock Trial competition in late 2024 and earned an invitation to represent Maine at the 2025 National High School Mock Trial Championship in Arizona in May. The team is fundraising to help defray expenses as they prepare to compete against state champion teams from other states

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.

Fourth-graders in teacher Rebecca Weeks’ class at Ocean Avenue Elementary School have won a $500 Painting for a Purpose grant to buy new recreation equipment for the school. “We have over 300 students that attend Ocean Avenue Elementary School. This recess equipment could reach all of those children!” the students wrote in their grant application.