The Stupski Foundation recently named Casco Bay High School as one of the six Student Ownership of Learning award winners nationwide. That designation came on the heels of U.S. News & World Report’s ranking of the school as the eighth best in Maine, a combination of honors Portland school officials are touting with about a month left to go before classes start.
Derek Pierce receiving an award on behalf of Casco Bay High School from the Stupski Foundation recently. (Photo courtesy of Portland Public Schools)
Here’s a statement by Casco Bay High School Principal Derek Pierce on the topic:
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 they will create meaningful work that impacts the world.
Casco Bay High School is one of the schools in the country chosen to participate in the Stupski Foundation’s Learning Lab Network, and were granted the foundation’s award during a ceremony in San Francisco earlier this summer.
Here’s a little more about why the school was honored by the foundation, as described in a a district announcement this week:
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.
With the distinction, Casco Bay High School is eligible for $50,000 in grant money from the foundation, which announced it will disband after the next wave of grant awards. So our Portland school was honored just in the nick of time.
Casco Bay High School students and teachers
join Principal Derek Pierce (third from right), Portland Public Schools
Chief Academic Officer David Galin (second from right) and Portland
Board of Education Chairwoman Kate Snyder (left) in accepting a
Student Ownership of Learning award from the Stupski Foundation. (Photo courtesy of Portland Public Schools)
