What is Baxter Academy?
Baxter Academy is a public charter STEM school in Portland, Maine. Its curriculum is rooted in inquiry and project-based learning and is connected across subjects. Baxter opened in fall 2013 and now has a learning community of over 400 students from more than 60 Maine towns. Its teacher to student ratio is 1:16.
Where is Baxter Academy?
Baxter Academy is located in downtown Portland at 185 Lancaster Street.
Who is Baxter Academy?
Who are the students who thrive at Baxter? Baxter students are innovative and ethical. They are curious and motivated. They are willing to take risks, to fail, and to reflect in order to learn. They are inclusive of others. They take personal responsibility but are geared towards collaboration. They are musicians and photographers, martial artists and dancers, quarterbacks and video gamers. They love reading. Or taking apart cars and putting them back together. They collect LPs or books or trains. They may dream of being a doctor, a video game developer, a sustainability expert, a tradesperson, an engineer, a designer, a climatologist, a cancer researcher, a wildlife photographer, or a ____________.
Baxter faculty are innovative and ethical. They are curious and motivated. They are willing to take risks, to fail, and to reflect in order to learn. They are inclusive of others. They take personal responsibility but are geared towards collaboration. As a group, they have taught all over the United States and some internationally. Together, they speak many languages and play many musical instruments. Some are from Maine. Some are from away. One has built robots on US military contracts and another has built kayaks from cedar strips. One has a degree in particle physics but also experiments with photographic techniques from the Civil War era. One teaches chemistry and writes murder mysteries. Every one of them is attentive, responsive, and caring. And they are still learning. Every day.
What’s the faculty like?
Baxter’s administrative staff are innovative and ethical. They are curious and motivated... You see where we’re going with this: We think it’s important that the adults in the school share the same wonderful traits as the students. The school’s executive director, Kelli Pryor, was a chair member of the founding board, brings creativity and experience with building school communications. Our Head of School, Cicy Po and Vice Principal, Mary King, work together to support all of our learners and create educational opportunities that help us thrive.
What about the administration?
Baxter Academy offers a well-rounded education with an emphasis on deeply engaging students in hands-on study of science, technology, engineering, and math. Baxter has a robust and lively humanities department, as well as Mandarin language taught by a native speaker. Electives have included music ensemble, photography, CAD, JAVA, furniture building, creative writing, journalism, and graphic design. Students engage in projects of their own choosing, as well as school-wide explorations that knit together the disciplines. On Fridays, the students work on FLEX FRIDAY group projects of their design and implementation. Each project has a faculty advisor. Some of these include an underwater robot, a canoe, a mural, a radio station, high-speed photography, video games, and mobility footgear for a virtual-reality platform. Inquiry leads the learning at Baxter. Students think for themselves. They analyze. They innovate. Busy work doesn’t happen here, but everyone is always busy with meaningful, exciting work.
What’s different about Baxter Academy?
If your child is a Maine resident rising into the 9th, 10th, or 11th grade, he or she is eligible to enroll at Baxter. Please note: We do not accept 12th graders at this time.
Can my child attend Baxter Academy?
For information on our admissions process, please see this page.
How do I enroll my student?
Please feel free to visit our contact page.
More information on the Maine State Charter Commission can be found here.