61 Stevens Avenue
Portland, ME 04102

Deering has changed dramatically over the years and this is due to Portland's diversifying demographic. Teachers, admin, and staff are doing their best to accommodate the students at Deering who come from all walks of life. From implicit bias training, enrolling more students in AP classes, and having college readiness programs lead by Deering alums. I do believe that Deering needs a better support system to aid in the success of students, but I could apply this to many schools trying to cater to students of the technology age. I think the students at Deering are talented and have lots of potential. I am currently a student at Yale University and Deering alum working in the Portland Public Schools district. I am excited to see the institutional and academic trajectory of Deering with its diversifying and growing population.

I am altering my review from a couple of years ago to reflect efforts being made between then and now. The lack of parking is still a problem, but they have been actively trying to streamline the drop-off process to address the issue of kids being late to class due to being stuck in the traffic line. The biggest problem is related to district funding and not prioritizing access to transportation. Those who live within a mile are still not offered school buses in the winter (meaning children as young as five, and often their younger siblings and parents/grandparents walk a mile both ways- even on days deemed too dangerously cold for 15 minutes of outdoor recess). The district definitely needs to step up and deal with its transportation problems, but I recognize that Hall School probably has little say in that. Considering the need for adequate funding, and the great diversity of needs of the children at Hall Elementary, they do a great job of working with individual students. The teachers are very high quality, and the principal is very friendly and helpful.

Both of my children went to Reiche. I don't usually post reviews online, but after seeing the horrible rating on this site, I felt compelled. The teachers are incredible: hardworking, intelligent, creative, and caring. They are so good at building community in an amazingly diverse school for Maine. The international potluck will rock your tastebuds and the talent show will have you weepy at least once. I am a teacher in one of the rich suburban schools nearby and am so glad my kids went to Reiche!

My child had a terrible experience with this school. There was a massive gap in what students at the other local middle schools were learning versus the kids at King. My child did not read any challenging books all year long (in 8th grade, they read just one book which was a 5th grade level book). No papers were written, no geography, civics, or geometry was taught. The algebra was very limited and they spent most of 8th grade on fractions because "most of the class" was still struggling with it. There was limited to no genuine access to any advanced learning opportunities. Bullying and harassment was rampant. My child did not feel either safe or supported while at school. Finally, the teaching was all over the place. There were just a couple of solid teachers, a few moderately decent, many mostly unengaged, and a few genuinely awful teachers. I wish we had made a different choice - it was an absolute waste of 3 years for my child and it has taken them a good bit of time to make up the lost ground learning-wise.

My son is a student at PHS and is receiving an excellent education. He is being challenged and has an extensive selection of STEM electives to choose from. AP classes senior year offer courses at local colleges. As a violinist, he finds the orchestra a great group with exceptional instruction. Sports are competitive with a strong emphasis on true sportsman/woman ship and teamwork. The diversity makes for a rich experience. Highly recommend.

I'm so glad my daughter went there (and she is, too). The humanities were really outstanding, STEM, at the time, not so much. She learned great study skills and great life skills which served her well at a very demanding college. The things CBHS was weak on she could easily get access to elsewhere: kids can enroll in a USM college course (free) when they're juniors and seniors, they can be on Portland HS or Deering HS sports teams, they can take AP classes at these bigger schools too.