Archive for category: FPPS News

What is FPPS? The Foundation for Portland Public Schools (FPPS) is a nonprofit organization that raises money to address unmet needs of the Portland Schools and provide opportunities for innovation or enhancement to school programming for teachers and students. Recent campaigns have included:

• PPS Food Fund – raising money to address food insecurity
• Addressing the Opportunity Gap – deepening and accelerating equity work in the district
• Equity and Innovation Teacher Grants – giving grants of up to $1000 for teachers

Details of student board membership

FPPS would like to add student voices to the board and is seeking two or three students to join, beginning in November 2020, as voting members.

This is intended as an opportunity for students to develop new skills including leadership, group decision making, understanding of non-profit organizations, fundraising and more. Students will take part in discussions and votes on how the Foundation should operate, spend its funds, and other decisions about how to support the Portland Public Schools; they will also participate in fundraising activities (training will be provided).

• Commitment of one school year (November 2020 – June 2021)
• Six meetings per year, typically on Mondays from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m., with occasional other invitations and meetings
• Each student board member will have a more experienced board member as an informal Mentor

Qualifications / Application Process

APPLY HERE

1. Must be a current 10th, 11th, or 12th grade student in Portland Public schools.
2. Must meet district eligibility requirements for extracurricular activities.
3. Applications, including the names and contact information of two references who have been asked in advance, must be submitted no later than 5:00 p.m., Thursday, October 8th.
4. There may be an informal interview or conversation with an FPPS board or staff member prior to selection.
5. Students will be selected by November 2nd. The first board meeting will be on Monday, November 16th from 5 – 7:00 p.m. Between November 2nd – November 16th, each student will need to find a time to meet with staff and/or board members from FPPS for a brief orientation.

We encourage applicants to visit our website and/or email FPPS Director Andi Summers (asummers@foundationforpps.org) to learn more before applying.

The Foundation for Portland Public Schools (FPPS) is pleased to announce it has received a donation from Martin’s Point Health Care to the Foundation’s Addressing the Opportunity Gap campaign. Martin’s Point Health Care joins the John T. Gorman Foundation, Crystal Reporting Solutions, and dozens of individuals in the greater Portland area in supporting this work. The campaign has now raised over half of the funds needed to meet the initial goal

Martin’s Point Health Care’s Vice President of Marketing and Community Engagement, Steve Amendo, stated, ’“We are committing to expanding our focus to establish sustained, supportive relationships with community organizations and efforts whose work specifically promotes racial equity and justice. We see these as necessary elements of a truly healthy society and are excited about consciously adding this to the work we already do as people caring for people.”

The Addressing the Opportunity Gap campaign’s goal is to raise money for systemic equity work in the Portland Public Schools (PPS). The PPS strategic plan, the Portland Promise, calls for rooting out systemic and ongoing inequities in the city’s schools. The district has been focused on equity work for many years, but is calling on community members and local businesses to deepen and accelerate these efforts in a challenging budget year.

The specific objectives that the schools are seeking to fund include additional supports for English language learners that were initially intended to be in the local budget but were ultimately cut due to fiscal constraints; work to decolonize the curriculum, including developing Wabanaki and Africana studies materials for all three high schools; professional development for staff; and the creation of a pilot program to mentor a small group of multilingual, Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) social work interns who better represent the racial and language diversity in Portland. PPS is the largest and most diverse school district in Maine, with 47 percent BIPOC students and over 60 languages spoken at home.

Although a public campaign to create this type of change in schools is unusual, the district budget has many unmet needs, and it’s challenging to reallocate funds for systemic change work. FPPS Executive Director Andrea Summers shared, “The Foundation for Portland Public Schools was created to leverage community support for our schools. This donation from Martin’s Point Health Care, as well as all of the other community support of this campaign, will enable the schools to accelerate and deepen their equity work and ultimately demonstrate how critical these efforts are for our schools.”

Read Michael Kelly’s article about our new campaign Addressing the Opportunity Gap. The Foundation for Public Schools launched the campaign to help accelerate and expand our school district’s equity work. Superintendent Xavier Botana is quoted in the article: “Portland voters are generous supporters of our schools. But we still have many unmet needs. In this particular moment in our city, state and country, it is clear that we must do more than what we’re doing to close the opportunity gaps and I am hopeful that Portlanders will rally to this campaign.”

You can read the full article here. 

The Foundation for Portland Public Schools is pleased to announce it has received funding to help provide financial stability to vulnerable Portland students and their families during the COVID-19 pandemic. A $12,000 Greater Portland COVID-19 Community Relief Fund grant from United Way of Greater Portland (UWGP) will be used to support the Portland Public Schools Families in Crisis Fund.

These funds exist to provide emergency food, housing, utility payments, uncovered medical expenses and other pandemic-related support to Portland Public Schools students and families. “It is nearly impossible for students to focus on academics when there is not enough food, no electricity or heat at home, or housing is unstable,” said Andi Summers, Executive Director of the Foundation for Portland Public Schools. “The Families in Crisis Fund was created to quickly address these types of urgent needs of Portland’s families to provide the stability that students need to engage in school. There have always been families in Portland that have struggled with homelessness or inability to pay bills. However, the needs have grown exponentially in the last four months. We are tremendously grateful for the United Way’s support.”

UWGP volunteers have now made three rounds of rapid funding decisions for a range of organizations on the front lines meeting emergency needs for those affected by the pandemic. “Our schools are responding to the unprecedented needs in the community at this time,” said Liz Cotter Schlax, President and CEO, United Way of Greater Portland. “We are incredibly grateful for the many donors who have contributed to the fund, making it possible for us to quickly and effectively help some of our youngest neighbors who are most impacted by COVID-19.”

About United Way of Greater Portland
For over 90 years, United Way of Greater Portland has served and strengthened Greater Portland by mobilizing the caring power of our community. Today, UWGP is uniting individuals and organizations around the community’s shared vision, Thrive2027, three 10-year goals to improve education, financial stability, and health for every person in Greater Portland. United, with community partners, we build sustainable solutions that achieve long-term results and help our community thrive. We encourage everyone to be part of the change. To give, volunteer, advocate, or learn more, visit unitedwaygp.org.

Like all of you, we have a lot on our minds. We are saddened and angry about the death of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis police, as well as the many others who have died before and since. The health, financial, and emotional burdens of the coronavirus make this even more difficult and complex. At the same time, we are grateful for the heightened focus on the deep and persistent racism in our society. It must be recognized and addressed. Here at the Foundation, we are motivated to increase our efforts to support innovation and equity in the Portland Schools.

The Foundation’s work is aligned to the Portland Promise, our school district’s comprehensive plan. The four pillars of that plan are equity, achievement, whole student, and people. We’d like to share a brief story about our impact in each of these four areas.

Achievement – Too many students have struggled to connect with remote learning this spring. Even with the district’s decision to focus the last two weeks of the school year on students who are not on track, the need for additional summer and year round support is larger than ever. FPPS secured a $20,000 grant from Unum, a long time supporter of the Portland Schools, to pay for teachers, ed techs, and home Internet access to expand the extended learning program this summer. We are pursuing additional funding from a range of sources to continue this work in the fall.

Equity – The Foundation manages several funds that directly support school-based programs. The Step Up Award Program at Portland High School is one such fund that directly reduces opportunity gaps for students at PHS. The award is the creation of Ann and Bill Weber, parents of two PHS graduates, to provide funding for students in the Make It Happen! Program to participate in extracurricular activities. The student recipients are multilingual youth who would otherwise have to forego school-year extracurricular opportunities in order to work after school and/or on weekends. This year, Farhia Gedow and Don Dilamini are the recipients of the Step Up Award. The funds they receive will give Farhia and Don the opportunity to engage more fully in their education via clubs, internships, and/or sports, rather than work after school.

Whole Student – This pillar of the Portland Promise includes promoting mental and physical wellness of our students—considering their lives beyond traditional academics. We know that it is not possible to focus on learning if you are hungry. The PPS Food Fund has grown exponentially during the last three months. FPPS has raised almost $40,000 since mid March via donations and grants to address food insecurity for our students and families. In partnership with the Food Fuels Learning Network, this fund has allowed school social workers to deliver culturally appropriate food to families in need, provided tents for PPS Food Services distribution sites, restocked school based food pantries, and more. You have awed us with your generosity in this area. Thank you!

People – Our spring Thank a Teacher campaign raised money for Equity and Innovation Teacher Grants. This FPPS program grants teachers up to $1,000 for equity, innovation, or enrichment in their classrooms. It is aligned with Portland Promise’s focus on supporting and retaining a talented and diverse staff in our schools. Teachers will need the ability to innovate and respond to new needs more than ever this fall. We are planning to distribute $50,000 this year, thanks to your donations, a range of local corporate sponsors, and a $20,000 grant from the Lennox Foundation.

Other News
Benchmark Real Estate is holding their annual Portland Kids Duathlon to benefit FPPS virtually this year. Held between July 26 and August 8, it’s a chance for children of any age to get outside, get exercise, and contribute to FPPS. Please check it out and share with other families!