Bowdoin College’s Education Department recently presented Portland Public Schools Wabanaki Studies and Black History Coordinator Fiona Hopper and Indigenous advisor and former PPS parent Bridgid Neptune with the 2024 Education for the Common Good Award. The award honors the two for their work to create the district’s new Wabanaki Studies curriculum.

The annual Education for the Common Good Award recognizes recipients’ dedication to teaching, learning, and the broader community of educational professionals. Awardees are chosen because their ongoing work represents three core values of Bowdoin’s Education Department: be aware of the big picture; embrace theory and practice; and live in and model a spirit of inquiry.

Led by Hopper, Neptune and a group of Wabanaki advisors, a team of PPS educators has worked over the past seven years with advisors from the Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, Mi'kmaq, and Maliseet/Wolastoq nations – known collectively as the Wabanaki, people of the Dawnland – as well as students, parents, and community partners, to build a preK-12 Wabanaki Studies curriculum. The curriculum weaves Wabanaki studies into varied subjects that include life science, earth science and social studies. Launched last year at the elementary level, the curriculum continues to be introduced to all middle and high school social studies classes this school year.

Neptune is a citizen of the Passamaquoddy Nation and a nurse practitioner in emergency medicine. A mother of two children who formerly were Portland Public Schools students, she was a key advisor in the development of the curriculum.

Hopper and Neptune were presented the award by Bowdoin Professor of Education Doris Santoro on Oct. 17 during the Brodie Family Reception & Dinner. This year’s Brodie Lecturer was Dr. Rebecca Sockbeson, a professor in educational policy studies at the University of Alberta and a Penobscot scholar who focuses on Indigenous knowledge, decolonization, and anti-racism. Sockbeson also is an advisor for the PPS curriculum.

According to a posting on the Bowdoin website, Santoro explained that through their work, Hopper and Neptune have upheld the ideal of being aware of the big picture by recognizing systemic inequities that impact Indigenous students and communities, especially the Wabanaki, within Maine’s education system. She said the two have modeled a spirit of inquiry by asking how systemic racism has impacted Indigenous education in the state of Maine, and how it can be improved. And the pair have embraced theory and practice in creating the new Wabanaki Studies curriculum to teach to the students of Portland Public Schools.

“The Portland Public Schools is very proud of Fiona and Bridgid for this well-deserved recognition,” said Portland Public Schools Superintendent Ryan Scallon. “Thanks to their efforts, our district stands out as a leader in the state in creating a comprehensive preK-12 Wabanaki Studies curriculum, enabling our students to celebrate the rich history of the Wabanaki and to have a deeper understanding of the complex history of Maine and our nation, from the past to the present day.”

The 2001 Maine Wabanaki Studies law requires Wabanaki Studies to be taught in all Maine schools, but few districts have complied with the unfunded mandate.

Previous PPS winners of Bowdoin’s Education for the Common Good Award have included four recipients in 2022: Julia Hazel, PPS director of career pathways and staff culture; Alberto Morales, now Casco Bay High School assistant principal; Barbara Stoddard, former HR executive director; and Xavier Botana, former PPS superintendent. The 2018 recipient was Mallory Haar, an ESOL teacher at CBHS. Learn more.

PHOTO:  Pictured (from left) are Fiona Hopper, Bridgid Neptune and Bowdoin College Professor Doris Santoro, after Hopper, PPS Wabanaki Studies and Black History Coordinator, and Neptune, Indigenous advisor and former PPS parent received Bowdoin College's 2024 Education for the Common Good Award. The award honors the two for their work to create the district’s new Wabanaki Studies curriculum.

The Portland Public Schools is Maine’s largest school district, with more than 6,600 students, and it’s also the most diverse. About one-third of the district’s students come from homes where languages other than English are spoken—a total of 53 languages. Approximately 48 percent of the district’s students are white and 52 percent are students of color. Nearly half of PPS students qualify for free or reduced-price school meals.