February 2023

Information for Class of 2027 Families on the CBHS Waitlist

Thank you so much for your interest in Casco Bay High School. Recently, we held a lottery that included 169 8th grade students for 97 spots in our freshman class. PPS Central Office administrators oversaw the lottery proceedings. We carefully followed the established lottery protocol in an effort to have a process that was fair and transparent. We used a random number generator to determine the initial order, and the process was completed without us viewing any students' names (only student ID numbers and relevant demographics) to help ensure there was no unintentional bias. 

If you chose Casco Bay as your first choice and you have received information indicating that you have been assigned to Portland or Deering that means that, unfortunately, at this time, we can not offer you a spot in the Class of 2027. Your name is among the students on our waitlist. You should be receiving a letter from PPS with the information below and your precise starting number on the waitlist. You still have a chance, however, of being offered a spot at CBHS before school starts September. The lower your number, the better your chance.

Please know that all commitment forms received before the lottery were viewed equally. Your spot on the waitlist is a reflection of our particular process and chance. It has nothing to do with your merits or what you might contribute to Casco Bay. 

We are grateful that all Portland residents have three great options for public high school within Portland Public Schools (four, including PATHS). Your spot on our waitlist is held indefinitely, unless you tell us you would like your name removed. Based on experience in previous years, we anticipate that some students will be admitted off the CBHS waitlist between now and the start of school. If your contact information changes over the summer from what is in Infinite Campus, please let us know.  Please know that for us, whether a student is admitted today or the day before 9th grade starts, there is no difference in the services or courses this student would receive. We also have students who are admitted from the waitlist in their sophomore or junior years; we update the waitlist annually, and your number can only improve with time.  If you are no longer interested in a spot at Casco Bay and would like your name removed from the waitlist, please let us know. If you think there has been some kind of mistake with your child’s placement on the waitlist, please contact us directly, 

If you would like to appeal your high school placement, you may contact Emily Crocker in the superintendents’ office (crocke@portlandschools.org). Appeals will only be considered if there is space at the requested school, and if so, the following criteria will be considered: 

• Child of a staff member at the requested school

• Sibling of another student already enrolled in the requested school

• Documented issues of safety or harassment

• Child of any PPS staff member

Your particular place on the waitlist has been determined by the lottery.  Because of our commitment to maintain a student body that looks like Portland, the next student admitted can depend on the demographics of the overall class and/or the person deciding to leave. This means that, in certain circumstances, students with higher numbers on the waitlist may still be admitted before students with lower numbers.  (A full version of our lottery and waitlist procedures may be downloaded from the “Transitioning to High School”  section of the PPS website.)  Portland students submitting a commitment form henceforward will be added to the end of the waitlist in the order in which their commitment letter is received.  If a spot opens up, we will notify that family as soon as possible. More details on the waitlist process are below. If a student or family would like an update on their position, feel free to contact the CBHS registrar, Hermance Kouame, or myself at any time. 

Please contact us if you would like further clarification. We regret any anxiety or disappointment the waitlist may cause. Thank you again for your interest in Casco Bay, and good luck with the rest of your eighth-grade year. 

Sincerely,                                                                                                                              

Derek Pierce 

Principal

Procedures if a Student is Offered a Spot Off the Waitlist 

• Families will be asked to respond to an offer within 3 work days from a direct communication from the school (e.g.: after the principal has directly spoken to a student or parent). 

• Families may request an extension for up to a week. 

• Families may request a meeting, shadow or visit (pandemic permitting) before making a decision. 

• Language facilitators will be used to help communicate an offer for all families for whom this is appropriate. 

• During the school year, if families do not respond to at least 3 attempts at communication within a week, then the spot will be offered to the next person on the list, and the student’s name will be removed from the waitlist. 

• During the summer, if there is no response to 3 attempts at communication within 1 week, then the student’s spot will be skipped on the waitlist, and if there is no response after 2 weeks, then the student’s name will be removed from the waitlist. 

• Families on the waitlist will be asked to share their summer contact information. 

• The information above will be included on the PPS website as well as in all future correspondences about the waitlist.