Third King teacher receives National Board Certification
Portland currently has 8 teachers with National Board Certification Jan 29

Congratulations to Carol Nylen (Y7), who was recently certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). Carol joins King's other NBPTS teachers, Karen MacDonald (W7) and Ann Young (Y8).

NBPTS is a national peer review organization. Teachers who achieve National Board Certification have met rigorous standards through intensive study, expert evaluation, self-assessment and peer review. The process takes 1-3 years and between 225 and 400 hours to complete. Teachers submit a portfolio which includes video of classroom lessons, written reflections, student work, and evidence that they have impacted the student learning throughout their building. In addition, each teacher completes a six-part examination about his or her subject matter at a local testing site.

Only three percent of teachers through the US have achieved this certification. The current teacher contract is designed to encourage this type of professional development for educators in Portland.

Drama program announces 2010 schedule Jan 8

The program begins on January 25th with auditions for the spring play. All information about the program, the schedule, and auditions is available here.

Principal Mike McCarthy describes budget shortfall's impact on King Jan 4
All spring programs are intact

We have had several inquiries about the impact of this school year's budget curtailment on King. Each school was asked to reduce spending in order to make up for the $2.7 million in lost state revenue. King was able to offer $22,600 toward this effort from our supply, equipment, and field experience accounts. We will also reduce our use of substitutes teachers. King is one of the lowest users of substitutes in the city and we have already had a plan in place for this reduction which we implemented starting in Sept. We anticipated the curtailment.

Most of the other cuts beyond schools have been in the Central Office controlled portion of the budget. While this has an indirect impact on King, it will not require us to eliminate spring programming or cut staff. We are just beginning to look at next year's budget and will try to anticipate the impact of a much greater State revenue shortfall.

8th grade job shadow day is scheduled for February 5th Jan 4
More businesses saught for student placements

On February 5, all King 8th graders will be going into Portland businesses to take part in Junior Achievement's national Job Shadow Day. In previous years MEMIC, Bank of America, UNUM, Goodwill Industries and many others have played host to King students.

If any King parents know of businesses that could host as many as 18 students for that day (from 9 - 1), please contact Dave LaBranche (labrad@portlandschools.org) and your info will be passed along to Junior Achievement.

Superintendent Morse's January column Never Give Up Jan 19

Courtney skipped a lot of school as a freshman.   She was struggling academically as she dealt with the circumstances of her life.  

Portland plans for a unified high school schedule Dec 17

The superintendent's most recent newsletter describes the new schedule framework process and vision in detail. Read the full text of Dr. Morse's letter.

Edutopia returns to King Middle School to produce documentaries of success Dec 3

The George Lucas Education Foundation (GLEF) production crew will spend the week of December 7th at King producing in-depth multimedia documentaries for their series Schools that Work. Topics that the team plans to cover include: student success and Expeditionary Learning; models of leadership and professional collaboration at King; technology integration for learning; and developing a culture of compassion and high quality work.

King has been the subject of several Edutopia features in the past, including Laptops on Expedition. The Schools that Work series will provide a more comprehensive examination of structures and practices that make King a model for school reform.

Portland Superintendent James Morse discusses school budget crisis Nov 17
From Dr. Morse's blog:

Budget season comes around just like hunting season, except it begins in January, lasts through May and the game being hunted is numbers, not deer.

What prompts me to write about budgets before the January snow? Cuts in state funding for the Portland Public Schools. We anticipate a loss of about $2.5 million in the current year's budget - and a reduction of as much as $7 million dollars next year.

During the recession of the early 1990s, Maine's Republican governor and Democratic legislature worked together to combine state aid cuts with a temporary increase of 1 cent on the sales tax to support education. The penny increase included a sunset provision and automatically disappeared in a few, short years.

A penny today would raise $240 million dollars. Shouldn't we look at both cuts and revenue?

Read the full version at the Superintendent's blog.

And they're off!
King students are on expedition Oct 15

With beginning of the year business out of the way, expeditions are getting underway in every house. To get an overview of what's happening around the building, visit On Expedition.

Wednesday early release resumes Sept 30
Students released at 1:25

Early release wednesdays are district wide and provide time for professional development.

Free dial-up home internet access available to students and families
Discounts for broadband available as well Sept 29

Free dial-up home internet access is available again this year for all 7th and 8th grade students (or high school students if you are a MLTI 1:1 high school) who are eligible for free or reduced price lunch. This service is being provided through a cooperative agreement between Great Works Internet and the Maine Learning Technology Foundation, a privately funded non-profit set up to support ancillary services associated with MLTI.

Download the (one page!) application form and set-up instructions.

Laptops are out Sept 25
Take-home enrollment available

After two years of sharing computers in 6th grade, King returns to a one-to-one learning environment this fall. For information about King's unique approach to laptops and learning visit the One to One section.

Parents will be able to access grades from the PowerSchool login (on this homepage) using the login information coming home with students in the next week or so.

Schools provide free flu shots to students
Clinic postponed until November, but parents still encouraged to complete permission forms Sept 22

Portland's public school nurses will team up with health care providers to offer free, seasonal flu shots to all children in the district this fall. The Maine Center for Disease Control recommends that all children receive immunization against the seasonal flu. Learn More

Beginning of the year information

• Please Update Your Contact Information:
  If you are a returning King family with new contact information, please send an email with changes to Laura Mannette at ma nnel@portlandschools.org, or call 874-8140.
• King Calendar Reports on Schoolwide Events; Daily Announcements Reports on News of the Day are always available in the right column on this homepage. For house specific info, click on the house links above.
• If Your Child Will be Absent:
  Please send an email to Caroline Dhams, dahmsc@portlandschools.org, or call 874-8140.
• Early Release Starts in October
  As was the case last year, students will be dismissed at 1:25 on Wednesdays, beginning on the first Wednesday in October.
• Drop Off and Pick Up Safely
  The school traffic circle is for buses only during drop off and pick up times. Be sure to observe the 15 MPH speed limit to avoid tickets in excess of $300.
• Fall Sports Schedules Available
  Download sports schedules and find directions to games.

Highlights from the Past
See the Complete Index from 08 - 09

Congratulations to cast and crew of Katastrophe Kate! April 28
See pictures from the show. Share your pictures.

KingTV has the latest March 27
All fall and winter expedition documentaries are now on line.

KingTV features student-produced media and expedition documentaries dating back to 2000.

Expeditionary Learning features King Middle School in new national video
In video, President Obama highlights EL as a national model March 25

Expeditionary Learning Schools' new promotional and informational video features King, among several EL schools. President Obama also appears in the video, describing EL schools as models for education reform.

The King expedition featured in the video is Riverworks. Both the EL video and King's own documentary of Riverworks are available on KingTV.

Claudette Colvin, unsung hero of the civil rights era, spends time with King students March 12

Claudette Colvin was the first African American to refuse to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama city bus. Her act of courage set the stage for Rosa Parks and the organized civil rights effort that would desegregate public transportation throughout the Jim Crow South. Ms. Colvin and Phillip Hoose, author of the new biography, Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice, recently visited King Middle School to talk with students about Claudette's acts of courage. Continued on the Library page

Hundreds of family members celebrate King's rich community at the first International Potluck Dinner Feb 27

We wish to express our appreciation to the PTO, the performers, and all of the members of the community who participated in last night's dinner and community gathering. Now we all know why it's great to be a kid at King!

Windsor 8 expedition, Truth or Consequences, turns the spotlight back on the media Oct 22, 2007

Windsor 8 students discuss the media's coverage of King's Health Clinic with Portland Press Herald columnist Bill Nemitz and principal Mike McCarthy.

In a panel discussion with principal Mike McCarthy, and Portland Press columnist Bill Nemitz, students in Windsor 8 were given the chance to ask questions about changes at the health clinic, and how the media reports, and sometimes distorts, the truth.

The conversation became the source of Mr. Nemitz column in the Saturday edition of the Press Herald. Read the whole story here.

Learn about King's banner; meet the artists Feb 12, 2007

Click here for the whole story.