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  • Concerning News

    Dear Portsmouth School District Families, We are reaching out in light of a recent newspaper report concerning the arrest of an assistant track coach at Portsmouth High School, who is alleged to have engaged in inappropriate conduct involving a minor. Last Wednesday, we shared with the high school community that the coach had been placed on leave. With today’s article, we wanted to share with the broader school community. We recognize that this news is deeply troubling and may cause concern, sadness, or even anger within our community. Please know that we take this matter extremely seriously, and we are fully committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of every student in our care. At this time, we have no indication that any Portsmouth School Department students were involved in the reported incident. The alleged conduct did not occur on school grounds, and law enforcement is currently handling the investigation. The staff member in question has been placed on administrative leave, and we are cooperating fully with the authorities. We understand that trust and transparency are vital, especially in moments like this. While we are limited in what we can share due to the ongoing investigation and privacy laws, we will continue to communicate as we are able. Counseling and support services are available to any student or family member who may be affected by this news. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to our school counselors or administration if your child needs additional support. Thank you for your continued partnership as we work to uphold the safety, integrity, and values of our school community. Sincerely, Zach McLaughlin           Superintendent of Schools Steve Chinosi Principal Tom Kozikowski Athletic Director Michael Lyford PHS Track Coach

    Thursday, May 08 2025

  • Fire Alarm at PHS Cleared by Fire Department

    Good afternoon Portsmouth High School and Middle School parents, students, and staff, At approximately 3:00 PM, a fire alarm was triggered at PHS. The building was emptied. Portsmouth Fire Department responded and investigated a sensor on the third floor. No fire was found, and students are now reentrying the building. Afternoon buses should be leaving from the high school at close to normal time.  Thank you to the Portsmouth Fire Department for their assistance and to students and staff for their diligence on such a rainy day.

    Monday, Mar 24 2025

  • Bus Stop Concern Cleared by Police Department

    Good afternoon, parents and staff of the Portsmouth School Department, Earlier today, we received a report of an alleged student safety issue at a bus stop. The report included the possibility of a student being approached by a stranger.  The Portsmouth Police Department conducted a prompt investigation into the concern and concluded that there was no threat to our students at any point in time. As always, we thank the Police Department for its ongoing partnership and commitment to keeping our students safe. Dr. Zach McLaughlin Superintendent of Schools

    Wednesday, Mar 19 2025

  • Two Hour Delay for Portsmouth Schools

    Good morning staff, students, and families of Portsmouth Schools, This is Zach McLaughlin, Superintendent of Schools.  There will be a two hour delay this morning for Portsmouth Schools.

    Monday, Feb 17 2025

  • No School Tomorrow Thursday February 6th

    Good evening Portsmouth School Department students, families, and staff, This is Superintendent of Schools Zach McLaughlin. I am calling this evening to let you know that schools will be closed tomorrow in Portsmouth. Unfortunately, the timing and anticipated intensity of tomorrow’s storm falls right at a time that makes it difficult to get students home safely. Both our regular schedule and an early release schedule would have us sending students home in the midst of some challenging road conditions. So, tomorrow will be a full snow day.  Please be safe. We will look forward to welcoming everybody back on Friday.

    Thursday, Feb 06 2025

  • Two Hour Delay

    Good morning staff, students, and families of Portsmouth School Department, This is Superintendent of Schools Zach McLaughlin, and I am calling to let you know our schools will have a two hour delay today. Please be safe on your way in, and we look forward to seeing you a little later this morning.

    Wednesday, Jan 29 2025

  • Sad News for our School Community

    Dear Portsmouth School Department families and staff, It is with great sadness that we inform you of the death of Norah Bourbon, a fourth grader at New Franklin School. She passed away early this morning. This is an unimaginable loss for our entire school community, and our thoughts and prayers are with Norah’s family and friends during this difficult time. We understand that this news is difficult to process, and grief affects each of us differently. To support our students, staff, and families, we have made counseling services available in all buildings and extra support available at New Franklin School and Portsmouth Middle School. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if your child needs someone to talk to or additional support. In the coming days, we will work closely with Norah’s family to determine how we can best honor her memory while respecting their wishes and privacy. We ask for your understanding and kindness during this time. To support conversations at home, we have included resources below on how to talk to your children about grief and loss. This is a moment of great heartache for our school community. Our hope is that we will all come together to support the family and each other during this challenging moment. Respectfully, Dr. Zach McLaughlin Superintendent of Schools Center for Grieving Children Website:  https://www.cgcmaine.org/ Center for Grieving Children’s:  “Helping Children to Grieve”

    Monday, Jan 27 2025

  • Schools Okay, Operations Resumed

    Good morning Portsmouth School District familes and staff, At approximately 10:22 AM, all of our schools felt the earthquake that was centered off the coast. While a unique experience for many staff and students, our buildings do not have obvious damage. No injuries have been reported. School remains in session, and we are walking our buildings to look for any potential structural concerns. At this point none have been identified.  At the moment, we have resumed our normal operations, but we will continue to assess the situation with state and local partners. Best, Dr. Zach McLaughlin Superintendent of Schools

    Monday, Jan 27 2025

  • Sunday’s Redistricting Forum

    Dear Portsmouth Community, We wanted to remind you about the redistricting community forum this Sunday at Little Harbour School at 3pm. We will have a few volunteers on hand to watch kids who attend. As the co-chairs of the redistricting committee, we started this process based on concerns of larger class sizes at Dondero in the 23-24 academic year. We have discussed a goal of having buffer classrooms at each of our elementaries to accommodate for larger “bubbles” of student classes. As we discussed potential options to ensure buffer classrooms, we also looked at each of the elementaries with an eye towards utilization of space. This has led us to concerns about the differences in spaces for special education and individual intervention between the elementaries. It is important to recognize that our Portsmouth School Department team is VERY flexible and creative in making alternative spaces work. Our proposals presented most recently have focused on either no changes or redistricting three neighborhoods (Powderhouse, Hillside, and Lafayette Park) to Little Harbour School (LHS) with a grandfathering option. Community feedback has been clear that parental choice for individual students including grandfathering options are critical to our community. As we continue to consider options responsive to community feedback, we are hopeful to get initial feedback on an additional potential option that would designate “transition neighborhoods” with the ideal outcome of balancing school populations while allowing choice and monitoring the numbers over the next few years. This would be that 'transition neighborhoods' would have the option to transition to LHS. Once they transition, they would remain at LHS through elementary. Families in 'transition neighborhoods' would have the option to transition their students to LHS as early as next year. Any families with children not yet enrolled could decide on the currently designated school (Dondero or New Franklin) or Little Harbour. School and neighborhood enrollment would be assessed annually with 'transition neighborhoods' extended or permanent redistricting of neighbors recommended with adequate notice to families. Our survey indicated some families in these neighborhoods are interested in transitioning to LHS. Based on our survey findings if only interested families moved, we believe our elementary system would already be better balanced. The intention would be to offer bus transportation for transition neighborhoods to either school. It will take more time, committee discussion, and review of budgetary implications to fully assess the feasibility of logistics. We recognize that this new “transition neighborhoods” approach introduces the possibility of including neighborhoods, such as Meadowbrook and Atlantic Heights, which have not been part of the previous redistricting conversations. We apologize for the short notice but we wanted to bring it to the attention of the community and neighborhoods as soon as we began considering this option. This initial discussion of “transition neighborhoods” identifies areas that we, as co-chairs, see as the most likely to be redistricted in the next 5-10 years. This is a new approach, and we would like your feedback at the Sunday forum. The “transition neighborhoods” option may include Hillside, Lafayette Park, Powderhouse, Meadowbrook, and Atlantic Heights. There would not be a requirement for students in these neighborhoods to transition, but through our community survey there are families that are likely to opt to change to Little Harbour School, allowing us greater balance across elementaries. We want to assure you that no decisions will be made at Sunday’s forum. This meeting is one step in an ongoing process, and we hope it will help us understand the community’s views on this possible direction. If you are unable to attend, please know that we will record the meeting and make materials available afterward. Your feedback and perspectives are vital as we continue to shape these plans. Additional information including neighborhood maps are available at: https://sites.google.com/sau52.org/redistricting-committee Sincerely, Kerry Nolte & Byron Matto Redistricting Committee Co-Chairs Portsmouth School Board

    Friday, Dec 13 2024

  • Potential Afternoon Transportation Delays Due to Bri...

    Good afternoon, families, students, and staff, ​We have been informed that a police incident has closed the I-95 bridge. We anticipate that this could delay our afternoon bus runs. We appreciate your patience and flexibility as we navigate the expected impact on afternoon traffic around the Portsmouth area. We will provide additional information as it becomes available. Respectfully, Dr. Zach McLaughlin Superintendent of Schools [Tuesday, Dec 3 at 3:38 PM] A quick update. So far, the afternoon bus runs are doing better than we initially feared. Afternoon buses arrived more or less on time at both PHS and PMS. We hope that runs will be able to be completed soon. [Tuesday, Dec 3 at 3:46 PM] This is our final update for today. Both lanes of the bridge have been reopened and buses are completing their afternoon runs. Thanks to everyone for their flexibity this afternoon.

    Tuesday, Dec 03 2024