March 6, 2025

Families, your feedback is needed! The District’s annual Parent Survey has now arrived in your email inbox! This is an opportunity for you to directly influence improvements and enhance the learning environment for all our students. Don’t miss your chance to help shape the future of our schools!

Teacher Bobby Shaddox's fifth-grade class embarked on an exciting and educational field trip to the Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) in February! They participated in the LabVenture program, which uniquely combines traditional science tools with high-tech interactive resources to explore the diverse ecosystems of the Gulf of Maine.

Students used NASA satellite data and local fishery datasets to investigate the impact of warming ocean temperatures on key species such as lobster and black sea bass. 

As part of their science and engineering unit on bridges, fifth-grade students at Reiche Elementary School have been hard at work researching different types of bridges and creating informative posters. Working together in groups, students are preparing for their upcoming presentations, where they’ll share their findings and teach the class about their unique bridge! This unit gives students the opportunity to collaborate, get creative, and engage in hands-on learning.

Through a Side x Side program at Lyseth Elementary School, third-graders in Kara St. Germain's and Maestra Loreto Rafales’ class finished out their unit on frogs with a physical theater performance. Under the direction of visiting artist Gretchen Berg, students brought their learning to life as they acted and danced to demonstrate adaptations, the life cycle and unexpected things that frogs might do! Ben Moher's and Jayne Dyer's classes also performed after returning from February break.

Portland High School hosted its annual National History Day (NHD) Competition on Feb. 14, where students showcased their research, creativity, and historical analysis through engaging projects. This year’s event took place in the PHS Library. A total of 125 Students from Early U.S. History classes taught by teachers Rosa Slack, Andres Martinez, Ericka Lee-Winship, and Dan Hanley presented 66 projects.

The Make It Happen (MIH) program recently went on a tour of the Bowdoin College campus! The tour gave our multilingual high school seniors the opportunity to explore Bowdoin’s beautiful campus, learn more about the admission process, and get a sense for college life.

MIH does a lot to support our multilingual students, including support to continue the pursuit of academic excellence, college essays/visits, and more!

Join the Conversation on the FY26 School Budget! Portland families, 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 future of our schools.

Attend one of our in-person events or join us virtually on April 2! Virtual link: tinyurl.com/PPS4225

A student art display at Central Office on March 7 during Portland’s First Friday Art Walk event is made possible by the Make It Happen program – which sponsored “Black History Month: Connecting Through Art” during the month of February. All students in grade 6 through 8 were invited to create original art throughout February, which is Black History month, connecting to the national theme this year of Black History & Labor. John Ochira, local artist, community activist and Portland School Public Schools alumnus, visited each middle school for a kickoff event.