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PPS scales Wabanaki studies; district developing locally focused Black History units and pilot fieldwork

Portland Public Schools Curriculum and Student Success Committee · December 16, 2025
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Summary

District staff said Wabanaki studies is moving from development into implementation with K–5 fieldwork and advisor‑supported classroom walk‑throughs, while Black History curriculum remains under development with planned elementary pilots and secondary implementation and proposed documentary resources.

Fiona presented the committee with simultaneous updates on Wabanaki studies and Black History curriculum work at Portland Public Schools.

She said Wabanaki studies has moved largely into implementation: most grade levels now include a unit or integrated content with district‑wide fieldwork for K–5, including outdoor field experiences led by local Wabanaki cultural educators. Staff have piloted classroom walkthroughs with Wabanaki advisors and expect to scale those in future years.

Black History curriculum development is at an earlier stage, Fiona said. The district has already adopted two secondary units from Facing History for middle and high school (including units on Little Rock and Reconstruction), but elementary Black History units are still in design. The district plans an elementary pilot of Black History units and secondary implementation; staff also proposed developing locally relevant video documentary resources to bring community voices into classrooms and said a budget request for that work will be included in the upcoming budget cycle.

Fiona described an advisory model for Black History mirroring Wabanaki work (nine Black History advisors with varying tenure) and said staff plan to scale Freedom Trails — a seventh‑grade pilot that connects students to local Black History sites in partnership with the Portland Museum of Art and Indigo Arts Alliance. She also said the district posted information on a PPS web page and an interest form for other districts interested in adopting the curriculum, with the aim of ensuring implementation supports rather than a superficial copy of materials.

Board members asked about time frames and whether Black History would include present‑day issues as well as past events; Fiona said the design intentionally weaves present and past, including diasporic, national and local perspectives, and stressed the need for local content where resources are sparse.