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Casco Bay High School

Educators:
Derek Pierce, Principal
Susan McCray, English Teacher

Students:
Amin Mohamed, Senior
Ahmed Hassan, Senior
Quinn Bolster, Junior
Askar Azeez, Junior
Jo Ellis, Sophomore

Embrace

Embrace dynamic relationships

For this Profile in Practice, we hear from two educators and five students at Casco Bay High School in Portland, Maine. Casco Bay High School (CBHS) is a small, rigorous public high school that reflects the diversity of Portland (population 64,000). Founded in 2005, CBHS currently enrolls nearly 400 students in grades 9-12.

CBHS is a credentialed, lead school in the EL Education (formerly Expeditionary Learning) national network of schools, committed to deeply knowing students and celebrating their diverse assets.

Principal Derek Pierce and English teacher Susan McCray share the importance of creating a caring culture for adults in order to create the same culture for young people. We also hear from five students who talk about what this culture of being known, seen, and celebrated feels like, and how their academic and life goals have been impacted.

“The core of success in a school is, are kids able to be their full selves and do something great that expands their sense of who they are and who they could be? And I think it’s similar for adults – that adults have to feel like they can bring their full selves to the school and that they have the ability to do great work with kids.”

– Derek Pierce, Principal, Casco Bay High School