Portsmouth public schools' curricula include both college, preparatory, and vocational programs, as well as programs for the physically and mentally impaired. Comprised of instructors, school officials, students, and parents, the 19-member Greater Portsmouth Education Partnership Council (GPEPC) works with the community to improve the school system and annually awards district educators and civic partners.
The following is a summary of data regarding the Portsmouth Public Schools as of the 2003–2004 school year.
Total enrollment: 2,696
Number of facilities
elementary schools: 3
junior high/middle schools: 1
senior high schools: 1
Student/teacher ratio: 11.3:1
Teacher salaries average: $44,282
Funding per pupil: $11,583
Three private or parochial schools enroll about 525 students.
Public Schools Information: Superintendent's Office, Portsmouth School Department, 50 Clough Dr., Portsmouth, NH 03801; telephone (603)431-5080; fax (603)431-6753
An extension of New Hampshire College operates in Portsmouth, along with the Antioch New England Graduate School, Franklin Pierce College, and Hesser College. A number of other schools are located within driving distance, notably the University of New Hampshire in Durham, which is about 14 miles away. The University offers its nearly 12,600 undergraduates and graduate students a choice of more than 100 majors. The New Hampshire Community Technical College (NHCTC) is in nearby Stratham. Collaborative efforts by the University of New Hampshire Division of Continuing Education, the College for Lifelong Learning (part of the University System of New Hampshire), and New Hampshire Technical College resulted in the establishment of the Pease Education and Training Center, which offers course work to help those in business and industry in the greater Portsmouth region.
Portsmouth Public Library maintains a collection of about 145,000 volumes and 5,000 audio materials, 6,000 video materials, and more than 750 periodicals along with city documents, tapes, and maps. Special collections include information about local history including World War II records. The library staffs a children's room and offers a variety of special children and teen programs.
Special libraries include the Portsmouth Athenaeum, a library-museum specializing in local New Hampshire, Maine, and New England history, as well as genealogy and marine, naval, and shipping interests. At Strawbery Banke, the Thayer Cumings Historical Reference Library specializes in art and architecture, decorative arts, local history, and preservation. Its holdings include photo and manuscript collections. The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Library covers computers, electronics, engineering, and submarines. Masonic information pertaining to New Hampshire is catalogued in the James E. Whalley Museum and Library.
Portsmouth is the summer home of the Shoals Marine Laboratory (SML), a research program of Cornell University run in conjunction with the University of New Hampshire. This marine biology and coastal oceanography facility is located on 95 acres on Appledore Island, the largest of the Isles of Shoals and six miles from Portsmouth in the Gulf of Maine.
Public Library Information: Portsmouth Public Library, 8 Islington St., Portsmouth, NH 03801; telephone (603)427-1540; fax (603)433-0981; email info@lib.cityofportsmouth.com