It is supported by the following Beliefs:

• All children are capable of learning.
• Teaching will reflect the best of what we know through research about how learning occurs.
• School will prepare all students for the challenges of the 21 st Century.
• The community values quality education.

The Assistant Superintendent of Schools works in close collaboration with the Director of Instructional Support, Principals of our eight schools and the content leaders of each grade span to help create and provide the format, structure, resources and materials that teachers need to help student achieve learning targets.

Major areas of focus of this office include curriculum, assessment & instruction, professional development for our instructional staff, and the process for reporting student progress toward our identified academic learning targets.

Learning targets, instruction and assessment for students in South Portland are aligned with the content standards as articulated within the Common Core State Standards  2010 for English Language Arts and Mathematics, and within the Parameters of Essential Learnings: Maine Learning Results  2007 for all other content areas.