Casco Bay High School Expansion Planned for 2013-2014 School Year
The Portland Public Schools will expand Casco Bay High School’s ninth and tenth grades next fall in response to increasing demand. The expansion is part of a three-year plan to increase the school’s size to a maximum of 400 students.
“We are excited to build on the Portland Public Schools’ diverse and rich choices for secondary schooling,” said Portland Superintendent Emmanuel Caulk. “Now, Portland families will have even more opportunity to choose the high school that best fits their children’s needs.”
Casco Bay High School (CBHS) currently is capped at 70 students per grade level because of space limitations. For the past four years, CBHS has held a lottery to determine which students can be offered spots. This year’s lottery pool of 133 students was the largest to date.
Next fall, CBHS will increase its ninth grade class by up to 30 students, thus cutting the waiting list in half. In addition, all of the sophomores on the waiting list will be accepted. Impacted students will receive additional information from Casco Bay within the next week.
The plan calls for additional expansion in the following two years, until the school grows from its current enrollment of about 275 students to no more than 400 students. The enrollment cap will ensure that CBHS continues to offer a small school environment that fosters close relationships between students and faculty.
“We expect to still know our students deeply, while better meeting community demand and achieving economies of scale that will benefit teaching and learning,” said CBHS Principal Derek Pierce. He noted that teachers will be able to focus their efforts primarily on one grade level team rather than two, as is now the case.
Since its opening in 2005, CBHS has shared a campus with Portland Arts and Technology High School and the district’s Central Office at 196 Allen Avenue. Central Office will move during the 2013-2014 school year to create the space necessary for the expansion.
Last spring, CBHS was named by “US News & World Report” as one of Maine’s top 10 high schools. CBHS currently is one of the “Mentor Schools” within the national network of Expeditionary Learning schools.
Below are a copy of remarks Principal Pierce shared with the student body on March 7th.