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On Saturday, Sept. 21, the Portland Public Schools will hold ribbon cuttings to celebrate the completion of the renovation projects at Presumpscot, Longfellow and Reiche elementary schools! City voters in 2017 approved a $64 million Buildings for Our Future (BFOF) bond for renovations to Lyseth, Presumpscot, Longfellow and Reiche elementary schools. The renovations to Lyseth were finished in 2021, and a community celebration was held then.

Seven Portland Public Schools seniors have been named as Semifinalists in the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program: Violet Blum Levine, Anja Machado and Asa Tussing, all students at Deering High School; and Madeline Butters, Lawrence Foster, Dvora Katz and Alexander Price, all Portland High School students.

Emily Wells, a Lyman Moore Middle School mentor teacher who has served on the school’s leadership team, is now the school’s new assistant principal. The Board of Public Education voted Sept. 3 to approve her one-year appointment to that role.

The entire PPS employee community gathered together on Wednesday, Aug. 28, in Merrill Auditorium to launch the 2024-2025 school year as one team, generating energy, inspiration, and a shared sense of belonging. The All Staff Welcome event also included a foundational overview of the district’s new strategic plan and priorities for the new school year.

At its Aug. 20 meeting, the Portland Board of Public Education unanimously approved the appointment of the members of the district’s new Community Advisory Committee on Attendance Boundaries for PreK-8 Schools. The new Boundaries Committee is tasked with evaluating whether, and how, the district should redraw the enrollment boundaries for some or all of its elementary and middle schools to achieve more equitable enrollment and demographic balance. Also, the committee will consider whether changes should be made to the district’s current middle school model to better reflect current and future enrollment and better promote equity and achievement.

Kate Hersom has been selected as the new assistant director of Portland Adult Education, with a start date this fall.

Hayley Didriksen, the district’s new senior Director of Data & Assessment, joins the Portland Public Schools with more than a decade of experience in education research and program evaluation.

Tesia McCarthy, a 20-year veteran of the Portland Public Schools, has been selected as the district’s new assistant director of specialized programs.

The 2024-2025 school year officially gets underway for students in September, but schools are also holding open houses and other activities in August to welcome back students and families.

Two students at Deering High School were selected this summer as Bank of America 2024 Maine Student leaders, winning paid summer internships connecting them to leadership training and work experience. Isabella Figdor and Jael Mowa, both rising seniors at Deering this fall, not only gained practical work and leadership experience while working with local nonprofits, but also have received financial education coaching from Bank of America’s Better Money Habits curriculum, all while earning competitive wages.

At its Aug. 6 meeting, the Board of Public Education approved the appointment of Darralynn Jones as Lyman Moore Middle School Principal and also of three assistant principals: Alberto Morales at Casco Bay High School, Kristin Rogers at Talbot Community School; and Rebecca Schouvieller at Deering High School. The Board also approved the appointment of Spencer Allen as Portland High School’s co-curricular director and was introduced to David Briley as a new teacher leader at Reiche Elementary School, a teacher-led school.

Three Portland Board of Public Education seats are up for election on Nov. 5: an at-large seat and the District 1 and District 2 seats. Only the at-large seat is contested on the ballot.

That seat is currently held by Board member Nyalat Billiew, who is not seeing re-election. Two candidates are vying for that at-large seat: Maya Lena and John Rousseau, both newcomers to Portland politics. Lena is a substitute teacher and artist in Portland and a PPS parent.

Portland Adult Education (PAE) hosted its 176^th graduation ceremony on June 27 at Merrill Auditorium. There were 85 graduates in the Class of 2024.

Jennifer Slabbinck joins the Portland Public Schools on July 1 as the new executive director of human resources.  

Portland Adult Education (PAE) will host its 176th graduation ceremony on Thursday, June 27, at 6 p.m. at Merrill Auditorium. The PAE Class of 2024 includes 41 students who have earned high school diplomas and 45 students who have passed the HiSET test (formerly GED).

Families, students, staff and members of the community are invited to apply for the district’s newly created Community Advisory Committee on Attendance Boundaries for PreK-8 Schools.

The new committee will be evaluating whether, and how, the district should redraw the enrollment boundaries for some or all of its elementary and middle schools to achieve more equitable enrollment and demographic balance. Also, the committee will consider whether changes should be made to the district’s current middle school model to better reflect current and future enrollment and better promote equity and achievement.

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 Monday, June 24.

The district has been selected as a Common Sense District for its work teaching students to be good digital citizens: informed, responsible and critical users of technology.

The Board of Public Education is expected to vote on June 18, to establish a new Community Advisory Committee on Attendance Boundaries for PreK-8 Schools. Community members will be invited to apply for the new committee, which will evaluate whether the district should redraw the enrollment boundaries for some or all of its elementary and middle schools to achieve more equitable enrollment and demographic balance. Also, the committee will consider whether changes should be made to the district’s current middle school model to better reflect current and future enrollment and better promote equity and achievement.

The Portland Public Schools family mourns the loss of a sixth-grade student in about a tragic incident that occurred June 16. Rachsombath “Rex” Rasmey, a beloved member of the King Middle School family, passed away in a drowning accident at the Presumpscot River. Rex’s smile, sense of humor and positive energy will be deeply missed.

The Pride Portland! Parade is on Saturday, June 15, starting at 1 p.m. from Monument Square in Portland. Come out and celebrate with the Portland Public Schools as our community joins the parade to march for acceptance, equality, and inclusivity.

Portland voters on June 11 resoundingly approved the Portland Public Schools’ $161.4 million budget for fiscal year 2025. The vote was more than 70 percent in favor of ratifying the FY25 budget.

“We are deeply grateful to Portland voters for approving our school budget for the 2024-2025 school year,” Superintendent Ryan Scallon and Board of Public Education Chair Sarah Lentz said in a joint statement. “In the face of daunting fiscal challenges, this budget is as responsive as possible to the needs of our students, staff and families, while also keeping in mind the concerns of taxpayers. The budget is grounded in equity, centers students, supports staff, provides additional resources to schools and is aligned to our emerging strategic plan. Thank you to Portland voters for demonstrating once again at the polls the value you place on a quality public education for our City’s children.”

Two Portland High School juniors, Harriet Mishkin and William Guerin, are already contributing to real-world scientific data. Under Dr. José Fernandez Robledo of Bigelow Labs, the students participated this school year in an experiment to test for the presence of transmissible neoplasia (cancer) in Mya arenaria, soft-shell clams from the Scarborough marshes. So far, they have found polluted water as a potential catalyst.

Casco Bay High School held its 16th graduation exercises on Thursday, June 6, at Merrill Auditorium. Casco’s commencement ceremonies are known for mixing traditional graduation pomp and circumstance with the unconventional, such as good-natured jokes interspersing heartfelt personal testimonies. This year’s evening ceremony for the Class of 2024 was no exception.

For the first time, multilingual Portland students are able to become Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) through an after-school class, thanks to a partnership between Portland High School Extended Learning Opportunities, Saint Joseph’s Rehabilitation and Residence, and the Boys and Girls Club.