Site Record
Metadata
Site# |
143 |
Site Name |
South Portland High School |
Description |
South Portland High School (then known as Cape Elizabeth High School) was first established in 1874. Founding of the school can be attributed to both the influence of Joseph S. Fickett, Daniel W. Hawkes, and Rev. Edwin A. Harlow, all of whom felt that a high school education was important, as well as a Maine law that passed in 1873 which provided funding for any Maine town setting up a free public high school. When classes first met in the fall of 1874, they were held at district school #12 (Turner's Island) for one term with Willard School planned for the 2nd term. When the new Town House was completed in late 1874, at the corner of Ocean and Sawyer Streets, two rooms were finished on the second floor to house the high school. One room served as a school room and the other as a recitation room. When the 3rd term began in the spring of 1875, there were 98 students in attendance. For the first four years, it was a struggle to preserve the school's existence. Many citizens felt the high school hurt the district schools by removing the older students, who were role models for the younger pupils. Of the 98 students who entered, only four graduated in June of 1877. Two factors that cut down the size of early graduating classes were inadequate preparation and the necessity of going to work at an early age. In 1895, the Town of Cape Elizabeth divided. The existing town changed its name to South Portland and, likewise, the name of the high school changed to South Portland High School. The southern section of the town spun off into a new town and had to form its own new high school. The Town House/high school building was destroyed by fire on January 17, 1921. After the fire, high school sessions were held at the Broadway School (Henley) in the morning and the elementary students there attended in the afternoon. A new high school was built at the corner of Ocean and Broadway in 1923 and opened in 1924. The annex on the high school building on Ocean Street was completed in November, 1936, and dedicated in January, 1937. The current school building on Highland Avenue was originally built as South Portland Junior High. In 1950 the building was under construction on the 28 1/2 acre lot. The architect was Miller and Beal, Inc. of Portland. The general contractor was Consolidated Construction Co., Inc. of Portland. The contract price was $516,932. Junior high classes were first held in the Highland Avenue building in the fall term of 1951. George Ernest Beal Gymnasium was under construction in 1956 and opened in September 1957. In 1960, the high school swapped buildings with the junior high, so South Portland High School has been located at 637 Highland Avenue since that year. An annex was constructed in 1962, and an auditorium and cafeteria in 1997. A major renovation and expansion was approved by a 2010 referendum. Ground-breaking took place in May, 2012, and over 100,000 sq.ft. of space was added to the school. On January 3, 2015, the final phases of renovation were completed and staff moved into the building. The project took 33 months and cost a total of $47.3 million. Principals of South Portland High School: 1874-1895 -Daniel Winslow Hawkes 1895-1901 -Ralph A. Parker 1901-1911 -Simon M. Hamlin 1911-1913 -Louis B. Farnham 1913-1915 - Ernest H. Pratt 1915-1919 -Roy M. Strout 1919-1925 -Charles B. Haskell 1925-1940 -George E. Beal 1940-1964 -Daniel F. Mahoney 1964-1976 -Keith K. Thompson 1976-1984 -Ralph C. Baxter 1984-1989 -Andre R. Hemond 1989-1998 -Jacqueline Gallagher Soychak 1998-2011 -Jeanne O'Brien Crocker 2011-2013 -Jim Holland 2013-2018 - Ryan Caron 2018-2022 -Michele Laforge 2022-Scott Tombleson |
