King Middle School (Portland, Maine)

[1] It is cited as one of the most racially diverse in the state of Maine: the student body totals 550, represents 22 countries and 29 languages.

[2] In 2007, King became the first middle school in the United States to offer birth control pills to 7th- and 8th-grade students.

The pills are offered with parents' permission, and the policy was enacted following a spate of pregnancies at the school.

[3] In 2010, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan visited and toured the school, calling it "innovative" for being able to set high expectations for its culturally and economically diverse students and for its use of expeditionary learning.

[4] In May 2013, King Middle School was profiled by PBS NewsHour for an "unusually comprehensive science curriculum that emphasizes problem-solving".