Strategic Plan
The Portland Public Schools reached a milestone on June 18, 2024, when the Board of Public Education unanimously approved our new five-year Strategic Plan. This plan is the result of a tremendous effort over the past year by the whole PPS community, working and talking together about how best to fulfill our district’s unique potential. The district now has a clear roadmap of what we want to achieve over the next five years and how to get there.
Superintendent Ryan Scallon began leading the effort to develop the plan in the summer of 2023. The district's previous five-year plan, the Portland Promise, had concluded. We needed an updated vision to help our district, Maine’s largest and most diverse, go from being really great to even better. Our new plan honors our district’s strengths while establishing priorities for improving outcomes for all students and the support we provide to students, families and staff. It also establishes concrete actions we’ll take over the next five years to realize those priorities.
There were three phases in the Strategic Plan process: listening and learning, developing the plan and aligning it with the school budget. In the spring of 2024, the emerging plan was extremely helpful in guiding the development of our successful FY25 budget. It will continue to inform budget priorities over the next five years.
The plan has five strategic priorities with specific initiatives aligned to each one. The priorities are: Equity at the Center, Achievement, Whole Student, People and Systems. We can’t do the initiatives aligned to each priority all at once, so they’re sequenced over five years, using specific ways to measure our progress.
Equity
Keeping Equity at the Center
The Portland Public Schools strives to be an anti-racist, inclusive district by vigilantly supporting each student to achieve their potential and rooting out systemic inequities.
Achievement
Enhancing Academic Excellence and Equity
Enhancing academic preparedness for college and career and instilling a joy of learning in our students by delivering a universally accessible, rigorous, and equitable curriculum. Those efforts will be complemented by consistent, high-quality instruction and engaging tasks that challenge and inspire at every grade level.
Whole Student
Cultivating Inclusivity and Belonging
Cultivating inclusivity and connecting community through partnering with families and community organizations to nurture supportive, inclusive school communities that promote belonging and engagement.
People
Developing Staff, Leaders, and Organizational Culture
Elevating recruitment, retention, and staff development practices focused on ensuring instructional excellence and cultivating an inclusive work environment that supports collaboration and staff well-being.
Systems
Streamlining Operations for Equity, Efficacy, and Accountability
Streamlining operations for equity, efficacy, and accountability through developing and implementing consistent and clear operational procedures and systems that enhance equity, efficacy, and accountability across the Portland Public Schools.
