Superintendent Letters

Daylight savings time has begun and spring officially arrives on the calendar this Monday, March 20. We hope the start of the new season and the extra hour of daylight at the end of the day are a boost for everyone!

The Portland Public Schools FY24 school budget process also officially launched this month, when we presented our recommended $141.3 million school budget proposal for the 2023-2024 school year to the Portland Board of Public Education on Monday, March 14.

An upcoming event at Deering High School featuring speakers discussing the "History of Drag and Queer Joy" is drawing a lot of public attention. We want to make clear that the Portland Public Schools values student voice and supports student participation and leadership in a variety of groups and conversations that align with their interests, aspirations and identities – including this March 17 conversation.

Dear Portland Public Schools families, staff and community members, 

It’s March, the month when spring arrives – at least on the calendar! March is also Youth Art Month and National Music in Our Schools Month, so it’s a great time to shine a light on the amazing art and music teaching and learning going on in our schools. During March, you’ll have several opportunities to see and hear the results of that teaching and learning.

Following some recent concerning incidents around the city impacting students and staff near some of our schools, we are writing to encourage all families to remind students of the importance of staying alert and aware when out in the community.

Dear Portland Public Schools families, staff and community members,

In our last newsletter, we took the opportunity to highlight examples of meaningful STEM teaching and learning taking place in our schools. In this letter, we’d like to turn the spotlight on the innovative humanities and English language arts teaching and learning in PPS schools going on at every grade level. Here are a few examples.

We’re very proud that one of our humanities/social studies  teachers – Matt Bernstein at Casco Bay High School – is the 2023 Maine Teacher of the Year. Matt loves teaching, as he explains in this Q & A with the Maine Department of Education. And Matt recently taught Casco students what it’s like to be a teacher – through a unique, experiential learning experience designed to encourage students to consider becoming teachers themselves.

Dear Portland Public Schools families, staff and community members, 

Happy February! We’ve gotten through January, often the coldest and snowiest month of the year. The frigid temperatures at the end of this week remind us that it’s still winter, but the days are slowly but surely growing longer. We hope everyone stays safe and warm this weekend. 

We are inspired by all of the incredible things that are happening in schools and classrooms across PPS. This week we chose to highlight some of the meaningful STEM teaching and learning taking place in our schools.  

Dear Portland Public Schools families, staff and community members,

We hope this finds you warm and well after the beautiful snowy day.  We understand that for many, yesterday morning’s wake-up call to inform you that we were having a snow day was welcome news (our own kids were quite thrilled!). But we want to also acknowledge that canceling school places a heavy burden on some families and students, and so we will always make these decisions carefully with as much information as possible. We want to use this opportunity to share transparently about how we make these decisions. 

Dear Portland Public Schools families and staff,

I am writing to let everyone know that – because of a shortage of school bus drivers –  we may sometimes have to cancel one or more of our daily yellow school bus runs for our elementary and middle school students, or possibly adjust school start and end times so that buses can make double runs to serve all schools.

Dear Portland Public Schools families, staff and community members,

We recently submitted our enrollment numbers to the state and we have just six fewer students this school year as compared to last year. We continue to serve close to 6,500 students, which is good news after a couple of years of decreasing enrollment. We continue to be the State’s largest and most diverse school district.

Dear Portland Public Schools families, staff and community members,

It’s almost November, a month when we turn the national spotlight on public education. American Education Week, which runs from Nov. 13  to Nov. 19, highlights the importance of providing every child in America with a quality public education. This is a good opportunity  to reflect on how we can best achieve that at the Portland Public Schools.

Please keep that in mind as we approach Election Day on Nov. 8. Portland residents are voting on candidates for three seats up for election on the Portland Board of Public Education. Learn who is on the ballot in this newsletter.