Deering High School

Deering High School (DHS) is a public high school located on Stevens Avenue in Portland, Maine, United States. The school is part of the Portland Public Schools district. It is one of the three public high schools located in Portland, the others being Portland High School and Casco Bay High School. Along with Portland High, enrollment to Deering is open choice by the family. History In 1871, the town Deering seceded from Westbrook. Deering High School was established in 1874. The school opened in Morgen's Hall, a one-room wooden structure at Morrill's Corner in the autumn of 1874 with 31 students attending. Before the end of the year, the high school moved to the Heseltine Grammar School on Ocean Avenue for four years. It was crowded. There were two sessions daily and, as late as 1895, school was held six days a week. The coursework included algebra and Latin. All students studied the same curriculum. Five students graduated in the first class. In 1878, Deering moved to the old wooden Longfellow School which was located opposite from Central Square Baptist Church. Seventy students were enrolled. Mr. F. E. C. Robbins was principal. In 1887, two new courses were re-organized and renamed the Commercial Department. The first edition of the school newspaper, The Breccia, was published in 1887. The town Deering was annexed by the City of Portland in 1898. The enabling act before the state legislature included a provision about the high school. Fred Matthews, a graduate of Deering High School who was an attorney and legislator, proposed the provision for the "continuing" maintenance always of a high school in Deering of equal grade and standing to what was in a Portland. This led to Portland having two high schools. By 1897, with Mr. E. H. Crosby as principal, the school had grown, so plans for a new building included fourteen recitation rooms, a library and a large assembly hall. Objections and protestations occurred over such a cost, since the capacity of four classrooms was thought to be adequate at that current time, and a library was questioned. In 1889, however, work was started on the construction of the main building. Just before the building was to be occupied, Crosby was killed by a train at Woodfords Crossing during a rain storm. His term was completed by Mr. Swan and Mr. Hill. On January 30, 1898, the new Deering High School was opened with William H. Marvin as principal. The Assembly Hall, which was located on the third floor, was dedicated to Mr. Crosby and remained in his name until the hall was renovated into a library. The first Deering High School building eventually became Longfellow Elementary School. From 1902 to 1909, John M. Nicholas served as principal; from 1909 to 1913, Herbert I. Allen was the principal; and from 1913 to 1919, Louis B. Farnham, was chief administrator of Deering. By 1912, the high school population had grown so that an addition, ("the Annex") was built. However a fire in May 1921 destroyed the library and classrooms in the main building. For the remainder of the year, classes were held in the Annex and in two local churches. The building was saved and converted into Lincoln Middle School in 1923. William E. Wing was the school principal from 1919 until 1942. In 1922, a new main building was constructed. It had 826 students. In 1932, a wing was added as well as an athletic field. Many extracurricular activities were started. The school newspaper was named The Purple Line in 1929, then changed to the present name Ramblings in 1940. Carlton Wiggin was the school principal through the years of World War II and more than two decades. In the autumn of 1960, Deering became a three-year high school. Freshmen were scheduled at the four-hour schedule in junior high schools. Sophomores, juniors, and seniors occupied the Stevens Avenue School in which many improvements had been made during the summer. The school day was extended from 1:05 P.M. to 2:10 P.M., in seven periods of 45 minutes each. In the autumn of 1979, Deering returned to having four grades. School Principal Wiggin retired in 1967 and was succeeded by Donald G. Hale. During the 1976 school year, The Deering High School Study Committee was formed to assess the physical plan and program offerings. During the 1978 school year, a DHS Building Committee with architectural firm Wadsworth, Boston, Dimick, Mercer & Weatherill began designing an addition. Construction began in the summer of 1981 when David Wallace became the school principal. Hale continued on the staff as the Building Project Coordinator. With the 1982–83 school year, students and staff utilized the newly constructed and renovated areas of Deering High School. Deering High School was among the first schools named a National School of Excellence by the US Department of Education in 1983. In 1985, Paul A. Pendleton became the school's principal. Under his leadership, the provisions of Maine's Educational Reform Act were implemented, and a ten-year NEASC re-accreditation was awarded. The Portland School Committee confirmed Jan C. Patton as the school's first female principal in July 1992. Patton served three years. The challenge of her tenure was the successful planning for and adoption of block scheduling. By 2014, the school had a student population of 1,022 students and offered Advanced Placement coursework. Curriculum Deering was one of 34 high schools nationally which had joined the International Studies School Network, which is part of the Asia Society. The school later chose to not renew its ISSN membership due to fees. In October 2013, Deering High School announced it would offer an Arabic language course as part of their new international curriculum. It was believed to be the first Arabic language course in Maine public schools. Sports Memorial Stadium is located on Ludlow Street near Deering High School, it is an artificial turf surface and is the home field for DHS outdoor sports teams. The Deering Rams won the Maine Class A Boys' State Basketball Championship on March 3, 2012. The Deering High School and Portland High School football teams have played each other each Thanksgiving since 1911, except for 1920 and 2020. Notable alumni Thomas H. Allen, United States Representative from Maine (1997–2009) William H. Brown Jr., television director and producer Nik Caner-Medley, professional basketball player Seth F. Clark, state legislator Don Favor, hammer thrower Ryan Flaherty, professional baseball player Irving Folwartshny, hammer and weight thrower Robert F. Griffin, CSC, writer Nathaniel Mervin Haskell, Governor of Maine Daniel Hobbs, politician Wilbur R. Ingalls Jr., architect Heidi Julavits, author Anna Kendrick, actress and singer (class of 2003) Linda Lavin, actress Bob Marley, stand-up comedian Andrea Martin, actress Ed Phillips, professional baseball pitcher for the Boston Red Sox Annie Proulx, writer Ryan Reid professional baseball player Fred C. Scribner Jr., under-secretary of the Treasury under Dwight D. Eisenhower, class of 1926. Earle G. Shettleworth Jr., state historian, Class of 1966 Edward Whittemore, writer (class of 1951) Notes External links Deering High School homepage