Portland Public School Department

• New England League of Middle Schools Spotlight School (King Middle School received this award in 2006 for the fifth consecutive year.)
• Unsung Hero Award for innovative teaching practices, 2006 (Allison Villani, Portland High School)
• National Association of Biology Teachers’ 2006 Outstanding Biology Teacher Award for Maine (David Sproul, Deering High School)
• Project Citizen’s National Showcase exceptional achievement award and Maine State Showcase exemplary portfolio award (Lyman Moore Middle School, 2006)
• Maine first place award and national sixth place award in the Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills Competition (Portland Arts and Technology High School, 2006)
• Gold medal from the National Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association for a team grade point average of 3.873 (Deering High School girls’ swim team, 2006)
• Maine Class A high school boys’ basketball championship (Deering High School, 2006)
• Regional high school math team championship (Portland High School, 2006)
• Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence (Portland Public Schools Transportation Department, 2005)
• Kennedy Center’s Creative Ticket School of Excellence Award (Longfellow Elementary School, 2005)
• One of 75 promising high schools nationwide (International Center for Leadership in Education recognition for Casco Bay High School, 2005)
• Maine Class A high school boys’ indoor and outdoor track championships (Portland High School, 2005)
• Alliance for Community Media Overall Excellence Award (TV3, 2005)
• Literacy Volunteers of Maine Community Partner Award (Portland Adult Education, 2005)
• People’s Regional Opportunity Program volunteer station of the year (Lyseth Elementary School, 2005)
• Maine Department of Education High Performing School (Peaks Island Elementary School, 2004-2005)

The College Board has announced that 11 recent graduates of the Portland Public Schools earned special recognition for their exceptional achievement on the Advanced Placement exams last spring.
The Advanced Placement Program offers college-level courses for high school students.  Nine students were named AP Scholars for earning an average grade of 3 or higher, based on a five-point scale, on three or more AP exams taken in May. 

The AP Scholars from Portland High School are Abby Blake, Yin Chiu, Michelle Crepeau, Charles Friedman, Jocelyn Gammon, Rachel Parshley and Sarah Walden.  Michael Imbergamo and Scott Snyder, both 2006 graduates of Deering High School, also were named AP Scholars.

Austin Anderson, a Portland High graduate, earned the AP Scholar with Honor designation for receiving grades of at least 3.25 on all AP exams taken and grades of 3 or higher on four or more of the exams.

Valentina Postolache, also a Portland High graduate, was named an AP Scholar with Distinction for receiving an average grade of at least 3.5 on all AP exams taken and grades of 3 or higher on five or more of the exams.

The minutes of the Portland Public Schools’ Secondary Task Force meetings during the 2005-2006 school year now are available online. Click here to read them.