To Members of the PPS Class of 2017 and their Families:
Thank you so much for your interest in attending Casco Bay High School.
On Wednesday, February 27th, we held a lottery that included 133 in-district students for 73 spots in the Class of 2017. Several CBHS staff members assisted me in the proceedings. We carefully followed the established lottery protocol in an effort to have a process that was fair and transparent. We used a random number generator to determine the initial order, and the process was completed without us viewing any students’ names (only student ID numbers and relevant demographics) to help ensure there was no unintentional bias. You can get further details about the lottery process by contacting us or downloading the policy from the “prospective students” section of the CBHS website.
The results of the lottery are in the attachment below. No student names are listed on the attachment – only student ID numbers. (Note: students in the lottery without a PPS ID number were given one by CBHS. You can find out what that number is by contacting us at 874-8160.) All students in the lottery will be receiving a letter within a week with additional information, some of which is repeated below.
Class of 2017 – Lottery Results
Additional Information For Students in the Class of 2017 on the Wait List and their Families:
Thank you again for your interest in Casco Bay High School.
We are grateful that all Portland residents have three great options for public high school within Portland Public Schools (four, including PATHS). Although we recommend students on the wait list pursue another option for high school next year, spots on our wait list are held unless we are told the name should be removed. We do anticipate that some students will be admitted off the wait list, especially in the short term and over the summer. Last year, approximately ten students were admitted off the wait list between the time of the lottery and September. Please know that for us, whether a student is admitted today or in September, there is no difference in the services or courses this student would receive. A student’s particular number on the wait list has been determined by the lottery. Because of our commitment to maintain a student body that looks like Portland, the next student admitted can depend on the demographics of the overall class and/or the student deciding to leave. This means that, in certain circumstances, students with higher numbers on the wait list may still be admitted before students with lower numbers. Portland students submitting a commitment form after the lottery will be added to the end of the wait list in the order in which their commitment letter is received. A student’s wait list number will change over time and can only improve. If a spot opens up, we will notify that family as soon as possible. If a student or family would like an update on their position, feel free to contact the CBHS registrar, Linda Pinard, or myself at any time. Further details about how the wait list works are published in the “lottery policy” document on the CBHS website.
Please feel free to contact us if you would like more information or clarification. We regret any anxiety or disappointment the wait list may cause. Thanks you again.
Sincerely,
Derek Pierce
Principal