Highlighting Our Successes in Portland Schools

Almost every time I've told a community member, educator, or principal that I'm running for School Committee, I get the response "Why would you ever want to do that?" or "Good luck".

Making tough and unpopular choices may be the most difficult part of being a civil servant. But what inspires me is the incredible amount of energy, motivation, and excitement that educators and parents have towards our public schools. My favorite part of running for School Committee is how much I've learned over the last six months from those who know our schools the best--our parents, educators, and students. We need to do more to build on our successes. Below is some observations and profiles of public schools in Portland I've been able to tour and meet parents from.

The first school I toured was East End Community School with Principal Carol Dayn this past June. EECS is the newest facility in Portland, built to replace aging facilities in the neighborhood such as Jack School and the Adams School. Those who live on Munjoy Hill may have had their first encounter with EECS by voting there on Election Day. The PTO's Greening Committee plays an active part to improve the physical learning environment at East End Community School with community gardens and sculptures. They've done a great job inviting groups like Local Sprouts and Cultivating Community to participate in their programs. The Enrichment Committee works with parents, teachers, and outside organizations to develop creative ways to inspire kids to learn. Their current project is to collaborate with Portland Stage Company to provide accessible Shakespeare readings and field trips for various ages and grade levels. The Wellness Committee has brought speakers and put together educational events around health issues and healthy living.

The president of the Peaks Island PTO gave me a tour of the Peaks Island School in September. As Portland's second smallest school, this island school had gone through a major transition the last several months with a principal leaving over the summer. The school year began with Assistant Superintendent Jill Blackwood serving as Interim Principal. Peaks Island parents and community members have been extremely active in the supporting the educational development of students at the school. There's a 1:1 student and tutor ratio. Wednesday afternoons are dedicated to various learning and interactive afterschool activities like field trips, additional workshops, homework help, etc. Parents are known to come in and lead some activities and help out in the classrooms. Yesterday I met with Peaks Island's new Principal, Tim Devaney who was hired in September to take over both Peaks and Cliff Island School.

Portland Adult-Ed is not your typical Portland public school as I learned from Anja Hansen, an Academic Advisor for PAE. It has the largest enrollment in the district serving over 2,000 students in various fields such as job training, community enrichment, or academic courses. It's also a decentralized program split between the West School for Academic, GED, ESL learners and Riverton Elementary School for Certificates, Job Skills and Prep, Computers, and Community Life Centers. Classes are also offered in various community spaces, public schools, and learning centers around Portland. I visited the site at the West School where the small building houses both the Adult Ed and West School programs.

Earlier this month, I met with Principal Derek Piece from Casco Bay High School. CBHS consists of one floor of the PATHS building where Central Administration Offices and School Committee meetings are held. Casco Bay is Portland's youngest high school with some amazing accomplishments to boost--an expeditionary program that has been very successful for its current students. It's first graduating class has a 100% college acceptance rate. While it manages to find room for nearly 200 students in its facilities, it's received lots of attention towards its successes and models for active work inside the classroom and in the community.

I got to meet a few members of the PTO and Principal Mike McCarthy of King Middle School, the hosts of a School Committee Candidates Forum. (You can find the forum televised on TV3 and available by request). While I didn't get a full tour of the facilities, I did get to sit in on a PTO meeting where there was planning for a fall desert potluck for KMS families with discussion about donations from local businesses and promotion.

The goal of these tours is to gain a strong sense of what student education is like for students at our public schools–what are the challenges and opportunities. I look forward to meeting parents, students, and officials from the schools I haven't been able to visit yet. My aim is to solicit the opinions and perspectives from the people who know the schools the best--our educators, parents, and students. We have great innovation already happening in our schools and with proactive PTOs working to gain community support for education, this work needs to continue further. As I think about my future work on the School Committee in the next three years, I welcome opportunities and invitations to strengthen our schools where there are gaps and find ways to share best practices with others to build more models of success.

Immigrant Youth Speak Out For Equal Education

Over a year and half ago, young activists and former students in the Portland public schools approached me about the challenges facing immigrant and refugee students and students of color in our public schools. I met with former students who had gone through the English Language Learners (ELL) track in high school who felt under-supported in their aspirations for college and families who weren’t receiving the proper notification that their kids weren’t receiving credit for the classes they were taking. I met with advocates who spent the last ten years trying to access data of dropout and completion rates based on race or ethnicity, gender, class year, and free or reduced lunch eligibility from the school department and State Department of Education, but told no such data exists.

As The League became more involved on the issue of educational equity, it became increasingly clear that young voices, especially immigrant experiences, had been left out of the debate around education in our schools. Many of the students I’ve worked with have the aspirations but lack the opportunities, resources, and support to be truly successful in school and in the community. These are the stories that need to be heard firsthand by our elected school officials and education leaders—a purpose shared by other advocates like the NAACP and Maine Civil Liberties Union who worked to organize the diversity panel last Wednesday at the Portland School Committee’s workshop.

The panel consisted of current and former students of Portland Public Schools - Jean Paul Kamanzi, Joseph Perez, Kelsey Phillips, and Alfred Jacobs – who spoke about their experiences in our Portland schools to illustrate the challenge and opportunities for educational equity. All students agreed that high school was an exciting time for them. Portland High School grad and Sudanese immigrant, Alfred described his experiences as a former ELL student who enrolled in college after high school, only to drop out of college because he felt ill-equipped and prepared despite having a high school diploma. For Jean Paul who also attends PHS, his frustration is that he’s not able to take more challenging classes in math and science because he is an ELL student. Joseph who was a successful member of the wrestling team when he attended Portland High but eventually dropped out, talked about how the only time he got to see the principal was when he got into trouble.

Our public schools are our most vital areas of investment—it has potential to be the greatest equalizer for our most vulnerable families. It's possible for Portland to become a model district in which all students are prepared to learn actively, think critically, and pursue even greater successes after graduation. We have the opportunity to provide the training, support, and tools needed for all our youth to be successful, productive members of our community. It’s not okay that our public schools fail to meet the needs of our young people.

With a new superintendent and a fresh School Committee, there’s hope for education advocates to participate in meaningful dialogue to reduce race and class inequalities in our educational system. Teachers and former community advocates have made equity and diversity a critical part of their work in education, but this work needs the increased support of the superintendent, school committee, and the principals. We look forward to taking the next steps needed to ensure all our students are learning for their future.