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At its April 8 meeting, the Board of Public Education unanimously approved a 2025-2026 district calendar that includes Yom Kippur and Eid al-Fitr as new district holidays. Starting in the fall, students and staff at the Portland Public Schools, Maine’s most diverse school district, can observe those major religious holidays with their families without having to miss school. 

The Portland Board of Public Education voted on April 8 to approve a $171.7 million school budget for the 2025-2026 school year to recommend to the City Council. The Board’s fiscal year 2026 budget focuses on strengthening student experiences and outcomes and is directly aligned to the new Strategic Plan. The Board’s recommended FY26 budget now goes to the City Council, which moves forward its bottom line. A final Council vote on the school budget is anticipated on May 19 and it will go to voters on June 10.

Join us for Sips, Sweets, and Stories, the Portland Public Schools’ Make It Happen spring fundraiser! This unforgettable cultural tasting experience will take place on April 16 at Ocean Gateway Pier from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. All funds will go to support of Make It Happen, a program that provides multilingual students with a pathway to academic success and college readiness.

Bululu Ngalamulume is the first graduate of Portland Adult Education’s Transportation Careers Program to secure a bus driver position with the Portland Public Schools. The district is hopeful it will be able to hire more drivers from the PAE program in the future.

The Foundation for Portland Public Schools (FPPS) is thrilled to bring vision vans to the Portland Public Schools (PPS) to provide students with free eye exams and glasses. On January 6-8, 2025, a van from Boston-based 20/20 Onsite will provide vision screenings, eye exams, and glasses to dozens of PPS students at no cost to their families. The van will visit Reiche Community School, Gerald E. Talbot Community School, and Portland Adult Education.

One returning Board member, two new members and five student representatives were sworn in at the Portland Board of Public Education’s Dec. 3 Inauguration Ceremony. The Board also voted for Sarah Lentz to serve for the third consecutive time as Board chair for the coming year and for Abusana “Micky” Bondo to be vice chair for a third year.

In cases of inclement weather, the Portland Public Schools will use up to three traditional "snow days." Our schools will be closed and students will not be expected to go to school in person or learn remotely. No school meals will be provided on snow days. 

Three Board of Public Education seats were up for election on Nov. 5: an at-large seat and the District 1 and 2 seats. Newcomers to elected office, Maya Lena and Abdulkadir Ali, who prefers to be known as Ali Ali, won the at-large and District 2 seats, respectively. Incumbent Abusana “Micky” Bondo, the current Board vice chair, was re-elected to her District 1 seat. Also, current at-large Board member Ben Grant won a City Council seat so will be resigning his Board seat by December. 

Portland Adult Education (PAE) invites community members to attend a special forum hosted by ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) students. With election day fast approaching, this timely event will provide an opportunity for PAE students to engage with state and local leaders on pressing issues such as housing, immigration, gun violence, and transportation. This free event will take place on Tuesday, October 29, from 10:30 - 11:30 a.m. at the Rines Auditorium at the Portland Public Library. Reserve your spot!

There are many ways to volunteer in The Portland Public Schools. Volunteers are always needed for classroom assistance, after-school tutoring, and chaperoning field trips. In addition, there are a wide variety of other volunteer opportunities. Check out the following examples and volunteer to make a difference in the lives of our students:

Portland Adult Education put together a cycling team to participate in the Dempsey Challenge in September – and PAE Communications & Outreach Coordinator Adam MacDonald described this intrepid team’s success in both pedaling and fundraising:

The Portland Public Schools needs school crossing guards. Be a local hero to help students get to and from school safely! Rewarding work with no nights, weekends or holidays. Earn $20 per hour plus bonus time! For more information, call Area Supervisor Lenore at (207) 680-0180, text “KIDSSAFE” to 22100 or visit: https://acmssafety.com/careers/

The Portland Public Schools will again be partnering with Northern Light to offer flu vaccines in our schools for students and staff. Students and staff must enroll a week prior to the clinic. Unlike previous years, there will not be any same-day enrollments for the flu clinics.

The entire PPS employee community gathered together on Wednesday, Aug. 28, in Merrill Auditorium to launch the 2024-2025 school year as one team, generating energy, inspiration, and a shared sense of belonging. The All Staff Welcome event also included a foundational overview of the district’s new strategic plan and priorities for the new school year.

Kate Hersom has been selected as the new assistant director of Portland Adult Education, with a start date this fall.

Three Portland Board of Public Education seats are up for election on Nov. 5: an at-large seat and the District 1 and District 2 seats. Only the at-large seat is contested on the ballot.

That seat is currently held by Board member Nyalat Billiew, who is not seeing re-election. Two candidates are vying for that at-large seat: Maya Lena and John Rousseau, both newcomers to Portland politics. Lena is a substitute teacher and artist in Portland and a PPS parent.

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.

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 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.”

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. 

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.