Health officials suspect food contamination made 22 Portland schoolchildren ill
City and state health officials are trying to find out why 22 Reiche Elementary School students got sick an hour after eating lunch Tuesday. Michael Russell, who oversees Portland’s health inspection...
View ArticleLockdown 101: School staff join in active-shooter training
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The woman’s voice on the intercom was anguished. “There’s a shooter in the building. Lockdown! Lockdown!” Inside the library at Independence’s Pioneer Ridge Middle School, about 65...
View ArticleTrustees keep options open for USM buildings
The University of Maine System board of trustees is keeping its options open when it comes to figuring out what to do with seven buildings on the University of Southern Maine’s Portland campus that are...
View ArticleColleges clamp down on fraternities
WASHINGTON — Their reputations sullied by race-tainted incidents, many colleges are clamping down on campus fraternities. Despite some swift and tough actions by schools, episodes such as the racist...
View ArticleUMaine System freezes tuition for 4th consecutive year
ORONO – The University of Maine System trustees voted Monday to freeze tuition for a fourth straight year, pending approval of the governor’s proposed 1.7 percent increase in state funding. “I’m very...
View ArticleGlobal Teacher Prize winner from Maine reflects on award
Nancie Atwell said if it appeared as though she was poised and prepared Sunday when she accepted the first-ever Global Teacher Prize – and its $1 million prize – at a ceremony in Dubai, it wasn’t...
View ArticleBaxter Academy of Portland makes waves in robotics competitions
Baxter Academy for Technology and Science is making a big splash in New England robotics competitions in its rookie season. The Portland charter school’s team, known as The Outliers, is now one of the...
View ArticlePortland school board chair says district is ‘getting better all the time’
Portland’s public schools “are in good shape and getting better all the time,” and Portland is still committed to becoming the best urban school district in the country by 2017, said Sarah Thompson,...
View ArticlePortland school board reconsiders plan to replace Hall Elementary
Portland school officials are rethinking their plans for replacing Hall Elementary School after learning there would be fewer students in the district than expected in future years and that the state...
View ArticleCheverus High School names its next president
Cheverus High School has hired a former teacher and Boston native to be its 19th president. The Rev. George E. Collins, who now is the director of campus ministry at Fairfield University in...
View ArticleSouth Portland students make pledge policy plea to faculty leaders
Three South Portland High School students asked the faculty leadership team Thursday to adopt a written policy making it clear that participation in the Pledge of Allegiance is optional under the law....
View ArticleUSM spends $2 million on new ads and scholarships, but applications decline
Despite a $1 million ad campaign that was launched in February to boost enrollment, the number of undergraduates applying to the University of Southern Maine is down 10 percent from last year at this...
View ArticlePrize-winning Maine teacher returns to school and a celebration
EDGECOMB — A rocking chair, not a podium, was placed in front of a crowd of students, parents and alumni who welcomed Nancie Atwell back to the Center for Teaching and Learning after she won the first...
View ArticleMaine lawmakers want to add money to K-12 budget
The Legislature’s Education Committee voted Monday to recommend adding more money to the governor’s $1.9 billion K-12 education budget. The committee split on its recommendation, with Republican Sen....
View ArticleMaine plans to offer interest-free loans to draw more science and technology...
State officials are working on a plan to offer interest-free loans to students who study science or technology at a Maine college and go on to work in a related job in the state. The Finance Authority...
View ArticleWindham, Raymond residents to vote on new school cost-sharing plan
Residents of Regional School Unit 14 in Windham and Raymond will vote Wednesday on whether to change the formula used to split education costs between the towns. The new cost-sharing structure would...
View ArticlePortland School Board considers proposed $102.8 million budget
The Portland School Board held a public hearing and gave a first reading to the proposed $102.8 million school budget on Tuesday night. The board will vote on the budget March 31 to send it to the City...
View ArticleFormer candidate Eliot Cutler to lead creation of UMaine System graduate school
Two-time gubernatorial candidate Eliot Cutler is being hired by the University of Maine System to oversee the establishment of a new graduate business and law school in Portland. The university system...
View ArticleWindham, Raymond residents approve new school funding formula
Residents of Windham and Raymond voted Wednesday to change the formula the towns use to split education costs in Regional School Unit 14. The final vote, on a show of hands in the Windham High School...
View ArticleBusiness leaders applaud selection of Cutler for UMaine System post
Maine’s business leaders are applauding the selection of former gubernatorial candidate Eliot Cutler by the University of Maine System to establish a centralized graduate business and law center in...
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