Baxter Academy for Technology and Science is a public

charter school A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autono ...

serving grades 9–12 located in

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropo ...

. Established in 2013, it is Maine's third charter school. The school is in an urban setting and specializes in STEM (

science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is an umbrella term used to group together the distinct but related technical disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The term is typically used in the context of ...

) curriculum. Its first senior class graduated in June 2016. Baxter Academy is a rigorous, college-preparatory high school promoting student ownership of learning through curriculum focused specifically on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Baxter Academy students study complex, real-world problems, using and building technological tools in a collaborative environment with scientists, engineers and other professionals. Baxter Academy's student and faculty bodies travel from nearly 60 towns across Southern, Central, and Western Maine to access school each day. A local bus company runs three express school bus routes to serve students with longer commutes. The Greater Portland Metro Bus system is another common way for Baxter students to access both the school itself and

Downtown Portland Downtown Portland is the city center of Portland, Oregon, United States. It is on the west bank of the Willamette River in the northeastern corner of the southwest section of the city and where most of the city's high-rise buildings are found ...

as a whole. The school also showcases its uniqueness by allowing more individual freedom and self guidance to help students prepare for the real world. One major way this is achieved is by allowing students to go off campus during lunch and become participating members of Portland's economy by shopping and dining during this time. The school also has a unique program known as "Flex Friday", where students or groups of students can organize a long-term project (1–4 years) that relates to their interests and goals while also containing educational value. The Projects are worked on every Friday, all day, when school is in session. Popular projects include game and

software development Software development is the process of conceiving, specifying, designing, programming, documenting, testing, and bug fixing involved in creating and maintaining applications, frameworks, or other software components. Software development invo ...

, robotics, and

internships An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and gover ...

. On March 13, 2020, the school closed its doors amid

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

concerns and increased logistical tension, and switched to a remote learning model. This model was followed throughout the entirety of the 2020–2021 school year, even as many other schools in the area began to reopen and new administrators were appointed. On August 1, 2021, an E-mail was sent to students and staff confirming that the school would return to in-person instruction by September 2021, but with additional

Prevention methods in order to ensure campus safety.

References

External links

* Schools in Portland, Maine Educational institutions established in 2013 2013 establishments in Maine {{Maine-school-stub