Ready for the school year
South Portland parents, students and community, welcome to the 2015-16 school year. The first day of school is almost upon us. On Tuesday, Sept. 8, we begin welcoming over 3,000 students to our eight schools for the adventure of another school year. Grade one through nine starts on Sept. 8, while kindergarten and grades 10 through 12 begin on Sept. 9.
Teachers, ed techs, clerks, office managers, custodians, bus drivers, maintenance, mechanics, food service workers and administrators we have all been working hard to ensure we are ready.
As you may know, I started in South Portland on Aug. 1. After four years at the American Overseas School of Rome, I am thrilled to be back in Maine, where I had served as an elementary and high school principal in Portland. As I begin as your superintendent, I am reading and researching websites, reports, action plans, newspaper articles, budgets and more to learn about our schools. I am meeting with and listening to scores of staff, students, parents and community and will see all schools in action to better understand the opportunities and challenges we face. After collecting and analyzing mountains of information, I will strive to communicate themes and trends to all with a stake in our schools to help us to move forward in meeting our mission: enriching lives through quality learning for all.
We are on a journey to ensure that all students educated in our schools have the knowledge and skills that will prepare them for a future we can only imagine. South Portland Schools should be incredibly proud of the generations of students we have educated to serve our community today and of the work we are doing on Proficiency Based Learning to serve our community far into the future. We start from the simple idea that if we make the target clear enough, with a concrete picture of what success looks like, we can help all students to achieve it. We look forward to giving you an ever-more detailed picture of this work as the year unfolds.
Of course, what we most look forward to is seeing our students strive, succeed, sometimes stumble, but always learn. Whether in the classroom or the band room, on the field or in the studio, we celebrate the efforts of our students, and all who help them, to build a better tomorrow.
Ken Kunin, superintendent
South Portland Schools
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