Scarborough Public Schools

Dear Families and Staff,

We’re thrilled to have all of you as part of our school community for the 2025-2026 school year. Here at Scarborough Public Schools, we believe in fostering a supportive, inclusive, and engaging environment where every student can thrive. Our dedicated staff, caring educators, and strong family partnerships help create a foundation for lifelong learning and success. Whether you’re new or returning, we’re excited to grow and learn together—welcome aboard!

Here are a few tips to assist you as you set forth for the coming school year:

• Discuss Goals and Expectations: Have an age-appropriate conversation with your child about what they’re looking forward to and what might be challenging this year.
• Update Contact Info and Emergency Forms: Ensure your school has your current contact information, emergency contacts, and any medical or allergy info.
• Establish a Smooth Morning Routine: Help your child start the day calmly and on time—this sets the tone for learning and confidence.
• Practice After-School Routines: Set expectations for screen time, homework, downtime, and bedtime.
• Talk About the Day: Ask open-ended questions like “What was the best part of your day?” to encourage conversation without pressure.
• Read Communications from the School: Stay on top of newsletters, teacher emails, and school calendars to avoid surprises.
• Label Belongings: Label lunchboxes, backpacks, water bottles, and jackets to reduce the chance of lost items.
• Foster a Growth Mindset: Encourage effort over perfection, and help your child see mistakes as part of learning.
• Communicate Proactively with Teachers: Establish a positive relationship early with your child’s teacher(s) and keep lines of communication open.
• Encourage Independence: Support your child in taking ownership of their responsibilities (e.g., packing their bag, checking homework).
• Get Involved (Whenever Possible): Volunteer, attend events, or join the PTA, Boosters, or other school supporting organizations—your presence shows your child that school is a priority.
• Monitor Emotional and Social Well-Being: Check in regularly to ensure your child feels safe, supported, and connected.

Here's to a great school year!

Best,

Diane Nadeau, Ph.D.

Superintendent

• August 25 and August 26, 2025 - Staff Days
• August 27, 2025 - Grades 6 & 9 Only (K-5 By Appointment)*
• August 28, 2025 - Grades 6 - 12 (K-5 By Appointment)*
• August 29, 2025 - No School
• September 2, 2025 - All students K-12

*All K-5 families should have received a communication from your child's school with an appointment time for you and your child to meet with your teacher. If you do not yet have an appointment scheduled, please contact your school directly and they will set you up with a time.

Our bus routes are currently all loaded in MY Ride K-12 software. You can access the bus routes via the My Rides K-12 app on your cell phone or by the My Rides k-12 website on your computer. This is a super helpful app as it relates to knowing where your child's bus is in real time on any given day.

Here are the directions to access via the phone app or the website. If you don’t know your child’s ID number, please call the school your child attends and they can share the child’s ID number (it is the same number as your child’s lunch number).

All of the bus routes are also linked here with the start and end times of each run and their streets/roads they service.

If you have any questions regarding your child's bus stop, accessing the My Bus k-12 software, or other route information, please call the Transportation Department at (207) 730-4145, or email the Transportation Supervisor, Sarah Redmond, at sredmond@scarboroughschools.org.

As a reminder, bus times during the first week or two may be a little longer, as our students and drivers acclimate to the new year. Your patience is very much appreciated.

As a general reminder, all breakfast and lunch meals for all students in Scarborough Schools are FREE. All existing students whose parents have an account will be able to order breakfast and lunch using the same procedure as last year, from the Nutrislice app on a device or at the Nutrition Program Menus page (at the top of the page click “Quick links”, then go to School Lunch Info for all meal menus).

Parents of Kindergarten and new students to the district will have to make a Nutrislice account through the Nutrislice app or through https://scarboroughschools.nutrislice.com/menu/create-account before they can order breakfast and lunch. Parents will need the child's ID# before they can start the registration process.

For breakfast meals in all of our schools, you can order online on the same day before 6:30 AM, while for lunch meals, you can order online on the same day before 7:30 AM. You can order meals for the day, or set up a weekly or monthly plan for meals to be provided to your children. The menus for all meals for a new month will be posted on the school’s website and on the Nutrislice app the last Monday at the end of the previous month.

Middle and High school students do not use a pre-order system; students can select their desired meals at the time of their meal period, with additional a la carte options available for purchase at an extra cost.

Please be aware that there are currently challenges associated with our bussing system that may impact your family's daily routine. Not unlike surrounding school districts, we are struggling to find enough school bus drivers to meet our needs. Please know that we are actively working to address these issues and ensure a smooth and efficient transportation experience for all our students. Our transportation team is dedicated to minimizing delays and any increases in bus routes, but these may occur from time to time, especially as we adjust bus routes in the first few weeks of school (based on what actual ridership looks like). We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work through these challenges. For real-time access to your child's route and the specific time to expect the bus on a day to day basis, we encourage you to download the MY Ride app.

2025-2026 School Calendar

This year's calendar will allow for up to three " traditional snow days" (or any type of emergent no school days). If more than the allotted three days are needed, those days will be asynchronous remote learning days.

Scarborough Public Schools' Central Office is open Monday-Friday, 8:00 am-4:00 pm. On Fridays, because Municipal Offices are closed, please use the video intercom system located to the right of the main doors (Route 1 front doors only) to contact the School Department and be allowed entry into the building. As always, if you have any questions, please contact the Central Office at 730-4100.

We all share a common interest to ensure that students have a positive school experience, and the partnership between families and staff cannot be overstated. We hope that you find this document, created in partnership with th Scarborough Education Association, helpful in your interactions this coming school year!

Please access this link to the Community Bulletin Board for information about great community events and fundraisers going on in Scarborough. In this week's posting, you will find information relating to the:

• Landline Kids Information
• Scarborough Public Library
• Scarborough Education Foundation

2025-2026 School Calendar

• August 25 and August 26, 2025 - Staff Days
• August 27, 2025 - Grades 6 & 9 Only (K-5 By Appointment)
• August 28, 2025 - Grades 6 - 12 (K-5 By Appointment)
• August 29, 2025 - No School
• September 1, 2025 - Labor Day: No School
• September 2 - 5, 2025 - Grades K - 12
• September 4, 2025 - School Board Business Meeting
• September 10, 2025 - Early Release Day **
• September 18, 2025 - School Board Workshop & Business Meetings

**Early release times:

Grades 6-12: 12:55pm

Grades K-5: 1:45pm

Scarborough Public Schools is currently hiring. Interested candidates may visit the School District's Employment site for details and application instructions by using this link here:

https://www.applitrack.com/scarborough/OnlineApp/default.aspx

Click here to view catalog.

For upcoming Scarborough Community events, be sure to check out Scarborough Community Services website and follow them on Facebook.

Spec. Services | Chris Rohde, crohde@scarboroughschools.org

Transportation | Sarah Redmond, sredmond@scarboroughschools.org

Food Services | Peter Esposito, pesposito@scarboroughschools.org

Athletics & Activities | Mike LeGage, mlegage@scarboroughschools.org

Curriculum I Katie Vetro, kvetro@scarboroughschools.org

Facilities | Todd Jepson, tjepson@scarboroughschools.org

For technology assistance with SPS student laptops, please visit https://tickets.scarboroughschools.org to open a ticket and someone from Technology will be in touch to assist you.

Website: www.scarboroughschools.org
Location: 259 U.S. Route 1, Scarborough, ME 04074, USA
Phone: (207) 730-4100
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scarbmeschools/
Twitter: @scarbmeschools