Portland Elementary School - Portland, AR

Portland Elementary School (PES) is the little school with huge expectations and big learning. Our campus is a singleton with grades
pre-kindergarten through fifth located in the small rural town of Portland, Arkansas. Portland is a farming community and is part of the Hamburg School District. We know all of our families and communicate with them often. Thirty percent of our students attend our school through a choice option and seventy-eight percent of our students qualify for free or reduced meals. Our faculty and staff are highly qualified, and we have very little teacher turn over.

PES is an Arkansas A+ School with a focus on integrating the arts and offering experiential learning opportunities that engage students. Teachers use a literacy curriculum that has very explicit instruction and is based on the science of reading. Grades three, four, and five are departmentalized and loop, so teachers know their students' abilities well, and little time is wasted learning classroom procedures. Our teachers and paraprofessionals have high expectations for all students and work hard to meet individual needs identified through formative assessment data. Our school-wide rule is to be safe, respectful, and responsible.

PES has great parent and community support. Area businesses and community members contribute time and funding to provide our students with many varied experiential learning opportunities, including trips to a neighboring state for the ballet, science museum, area national wildlife refuge, and live theatrical productions. Our Parent/Teacher Organization is very active with fundraising and volunteering. Our school is valued in the community, and those partnerships with teachers, parents, community members, and business leaders are a major factor in our success.