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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.

Deering High School held its 150th graduation exercises for the Class of 2024 on Thursday, June 6, at Merrill Auditorium. The morning ceremony included remarks by Superintendent Ryan Scallon and Deering Principal Jake Giessman, as well as speeches by students, musical performances and the presentation of awards and diplomas.

Portland High School, one of the oldest operating public high schools in the United States, held its 203rd graduation exercises on Wednesday, June 5, at Merrill Auditorium. The late morning ceremony included remarks by Portland Superintendent Ryan Scallon and Portland High Principal Sheila Jepson, speeches and musical performances by students and the presentation of awards and diplomas.

The Portland Board of Public Education is planning to create a PreK-8 Advisory Committee to review enrollment at Portland’s elementary and middle schools and evaluate whether adjusting school attendance boundaries would result in efficiencies and programmatic enhancements and ensure equitable allocation of resources across the district.

The last day of school for students this year will be Friday, June 14, 2024, and the last day for teachers will be Monday, June 17, 2024. 

Those end dates reflect an extension of the school year by two days due to the inclement weather "snow days" that the Portland Public Schools called on Monday, March 25, and Thursday, April 4, following storms and power outages.

More than 40 Portland Public Schools employees have retired or will soon retire this school year. The retirees were honored by the Portland Board of Public Education and the district in a ceremony on Tuesday, June 4. Those recognized have served throughout the district and held a wide variety of roles in service of students and families. 

Heather Sawyer, a science teacher at Deering High School, is this year’s winner of the Russell Award. Sawyer was recognized for her achievement by Deering Principal Jake Giessman and fellow teachers at a recent special event at the school. The Russell Award is an honor bestowed upon one teacher each year who exemplifies a firm commitment to the teaching profession, shares a love for learning with students, demonstrates intimate involvement in the ongoing life and activities of Deering High School, and displays creative self-renewal in their teaching practices.

The school budget for the next school year goes to Portland city voters on Tuesday, June 11. Please make sure to make your voice heard by casting your vote. Everyone’s participation is crucial in ensuring the best for our schools and students. Every vote counts to get our budget for the 2024-2025 school year approved! Go to the City of Portland’s Elections & Voting page to learn more and find your polling place.

The Portland Public Schools accepts funding through the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965. As part of ESEA, Portland is required to provide reasonable opportunity for public comment on the consolidated application and consider such comment prior to the submission of the application. Portland is accepting public comment on the ESEA application through June 30, 2024. Here’s a description of proposed programming. Here is the Feedback Form to share your thoughts about the application’s goals and priorities.

In May, Deering High School Administrative Secretary Liana Littig won a Recognizing Inspiring School Employees (RISE) Award for the extraordinary contributions she has made to students, her school, and community. The RISE Award, which was passed by Congress in 2019, honors classified employees in the education workforce who provide exemplary service. Littig, who is proficient in Portuguese and Spanish, is particularly helpful in supporting Deering’s multilingual families. She will be one of two Maine 2024 RISE Award State Honorees to represent Maine for consideration for the national RISE Award

High school commencement ceremonies for the Portland Public Schools Class of 2024 will all take place at Merrill Auditorium. Ceremonies for Portland, Deering and Casco Bay high schools will take place on June 5 and 6, and Portland Adult Education will hold graduation exercises on June 27.

Eighth graders at King Middle School will hold a culminating event of their study of the "Four Freedoms" on Friday, June 7, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Portland Public Library. 

Baptista Muanda, a rising junior and a student in the Make It Happen program, is the 2024 recipient of the Portland High School Step Up Award, a monetary award that helps free recipients from after-school and weekend jobs so they can participate more fully in extracurricular activities and expand their horizons.