King Middle School (Portland, Maine)

Helen King Middle School is an expeditionary learning public middle school located in Portland, Maine and administered by the Portland Public Schools. The school's current principal is Caitlin LeClair.[1] It is cited as one of the most racially diverse in the state of Maine: the student body totals 550, represents 22 countries and 29 languages. The school teaches from sixth to eighth grade and has 55 teachers. The school operates without a bell system and emphasizes flexibility.[2]

King Middle School

In 2007, King became the first middle school in the United States to offer birth control pills to 7th- and 8th-grade students. The pills are offered with parents' permission and the policy was enacted following a spate of pregnancies at the school. The Portland School Committee voted 7–2 to enact the policy.[3]

In 2010, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan visited and toured the school, calling it "innovative" for being able to set high expectations for its culturally and economically diverse students and for its use of expeditionary learning.[4]

In May 2013, King Middle School was profiled by PBS NewsHour for an "unusually comprehensive science curriculum that emphasizes problem-solving".[5]

References
  1. "Home - King Middle School". king.portlandschools.org. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  2. Baron, Kathy. "Project Learning: Sample Teacher Schedule for Middle School". Edutopia. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  3. "Maine Middle School to Issue Birth Control Pills". NPR. October 18, 2007. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  4. Gratz, Irwin (August 30, 2010). "U.S. Education Secretary Duncan Pays Visit to Maine Middle School". Maine Public Broadcasting Network. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  5. "Maine School Engages Kids With Relevant Problem-Solving Challenges". PBS. Retrieved 10 July 2014.


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