Education Is Key to the American Dream
By Xavier Botana
July marks my one-year anniversary as superintendent of the
Portland Public Schools. As my family and I enjoyed the city’s fireworks
display on the Fourth of July, I thought about how much I have come to love
this community. Thank you to all who have made me feel
welcome and supported here.
The celebration of America’s birthday also is a
good time to remember the importance our founding fathers placed on education.
Thomas Jefferson wrote in a letter to James Madison, “Above all things I hope
the education of the common people will be attended to.” Jefferson was convinced an educated public
was necessary to preserve liberty.
I had the opportunity to reflect on the
importance of education in my own family’s life when I addressed Portland Adult
Education (PAE) graduates receiving their high school diplomas in June. Many
PAE graduates came here from other countries and overcame many obstacles to
further their education.
My family also came to this country looking for
safety and opportunity. Like the PAE graduates, we understood the importance of
an education. My grandparents attended an adult education program, laboring to
learn English so they could become American citizens. For us, education was the
gateway to the American dream.
Now, I am proud to lead Maine’s largest and
most diverse school district. We strive to provide a quality education to all our
students – whether they were born in this country or not. We want all our
students to succeed in college and career so they can realize their own
American dream.
I am grateful that the Portland community,
which has supported and sustained a public education system for more than 270
years, has once again voiced its commitment to education for all in Portland
through the overwhelming approval of our school budget. Clearly, the people of
Portland reflect the timeless values of our founding fathers and our most
recent immigrants.
As I look back over this past year, I’d like to
highlight some achievements that will help guarantee our community has
the great schools our students deserve.
One key achievement
was updating our Comprehensive Plan, a road map aligning our district’s
work with our mission and vision. Last fall, teachers,
administrators, community partners and experts worked together to establish
four goals – Achievement, Whole Student, Equity and People – that are designed
to help us ensure that our students are prepared and empowered to achieve. We also developed key strategies for
meeting those goals and refined the ways to measure and report our
progress toward them. The Portland Board of Public Education approved the plan
in January.
We are already taking steps
to realize the goals. One example is our Equity goal. Our district data shows
we have a stark achievement gap between students who qualify for a free or
reduced-cost school lunch (FRL students) and those who do not qualify.
About 55 percent of our
students are FRL students. We’re committed to achieving equity by helping those
students. To do this, we are working to strengthen family partnerships and
ensuring that all students have access to higher-level classes, such as
advanced placement and our talented and gifted programs. We’re also reviewing
current policies and practices to make sure we don’t have unintended barriers
to equity.
Our People goal will help
ensure the success of these strategies, by attracting and retaining the most
talented and diverse staff possible.
As part of that goal, a
joint Portland Public Schools-University of Southern Maine four-week summer
program is now underway – designed to create a pipeline of diverse educators
who more closely reflect the diversity of our students.
About 45 participants
have enrolled and are experiencing teaching firsthand as interns in PPS classrooms
this summer. They’re also earning college credits, tuition-free, by attending
an introductory education course at USM.
Portland is an amazing
and supportive community that believes in education. Partnerships with the Portland
community and its world-class educational institutions are key to achieving our
Comprehensive Plan goals. This year has
been a wonderful opportunity to meet and begin to work with all these partners.
I look forward to many more years working to advance education for all here in
Portland.
