Casco Bay High School Wins National Recognition
Printer-friendly version“U.S. News and World Report” has ranked Casco Bay High School (CBHS) as one of the 10 best high schools in Maine. CBHS also won one of six “Student Ownership of Learning” awards recently presented to schools nationwide by the Stupski Foundation.
The “U.S. News and World Report” rankings take into account factors such as test scores and participation in Advanced Placement courses. CBHS ranked as the eighth best high school in Maine. See the list.
The Stupski Foundation award recognizes CBHS for its efforts last year to foster freshmen involvement through a learning expedition about sustainability in Maine. As part of the expedition, students crafted projects to promote sustainability in Portland, and they could apply for action grants to carry out their projects. CBHS sophomores helped mentor the freshmen.
CBHS Principal Derek Pierce said, “Recognition from these two, very different organizations underscores our belief that if students are deeply engaged in rigorous, relevant learning expeditions, they will succeed in traditional measures of student achievement such as standardized test scores. More importantly,” he added, “they will create meaningful work that impacts the world.”
CBHS is one of a small number of high schools nationwide chosen to participate in the Stupski Foundation’s Learning Lab Network. The Student Ownership of Learning award was presented during the network’s summer gathering in San Francisco, California.
The Portland delegation attending the event included four CBHS students (Kim Henry, Matt Holt, Meghan Suslovic and Troy Ali), three CBHS ninth grade teachers (Ben Donaldson, Helen Weigel and Susan Young), Principal Pierce, the Portland Public Schools’ chief academic officer, David Galin, and Kate Snyder, chair of the Portland Board of Public Education. Maine's deputy commissioner of education, Don Siviski, also attended the gathering.
CBHS is eligible for up to $50,000 in Stupski grant money during the 2012-2013 school year. The foundation recently announced that it will disband after this round of grant making.
