As an accredited high school in the State of Maine, Gorham High School has all the required departments that students must take classes in to graduate and receive a diploma, as well as other departments that are not required, but are for student interest and enrichment.
All information is from the Gorham High School Program of Studies, Guidance Department website and various local news articles, as well as my own knowledge.
A listing of current academic departments and their history is as follows.
Students are required to take English for all four years of their high school experience, and must earn 4 credits in this department as part of the graduation requirements. Courses in English have been required since the school was founded in 1880.
The current department consists of a four-year course sequence, plus electives. Electives do not count towards the required English credits.
In the 1970s, students were allowed to choose several, quarter-long English classes to fulfill their year's requirement. This was later discontinued and the standard full-year, 1 credit class was reinstated.
Starting in 2025, juniors and seniors are able to take either one full-year, 1 credit required English class, or two half-year, 0.5 credit themed English classes to earn their required credit per year. If they choose to take the 2 semester classes, they may not take them in the same semester, so that they have an English class all year.
The number of the teachers in this department has varied from year to year, but since 2025 there are currently 10 teachers, plus 1 Multilingual (ESL) teacher, for a total of 11.
Math courses are required for the first three years of a student's time at Gorham High School. They were first introduced in 1880 at the school's founding. Originally, math courses were only required for freshmen and were electives for juniors. The current requirement is 3 credits in Math to graduate.
Generally, the sequence is Algebra, 9th grade, Geometry, 10th grade, and Algebra 2 or an upper level course, 11th grade, taken differently by students depending on their need.
There are 9 teachers in the Math Department.
New for the 2026-2027 year, a single Business Education course has been added to this department, AP Business with Personal Finance. Business as a department was eliminated in 1995, and juniors and seniors now take the course at Westbrook Regional Vocational Center, with the exception of this new AP Business class.
Science classes were also introduced in 1880 at the school's founding. They were not originally required for graduation, and only offered as electives, most likely due to the school's lack of adequate space for science classes.
3 credits in Science are required, plus required lab work, to graduate.
The general sequence is Earth-Space Science, 9th grade, Biology, 10th grade, and Chemistry, 11th grade.
Upper level and elective science courses are also offered.
There are 9 teachers in this department.
Since its introduction in 1880, Social Studies has evolved from the traditional 'history' courses into a department of human studies, including Economics, Psychology, and other classes that don't fit as 'history.' Originally no credit was required in history to graduate.
3 credits are required in Social Studies to graduate.
Starting in 2026, juniors and seniors are able to take either one full-year, 1 credit required Social Studies class, or two half-year, 0.5 credit themed Social Studies classes to earn their required credit per year. If they choose to take the 2 semester classes, they may not take them in the same semester, so that they have an Social Studies class all year.
There are 7 teachers in this department, but an 8th is being planned for fall 2027.
The World Languages Department originated in 1880 like the departments listed above as part of the original curriculum at Gorham High School. The options then were Latin, French, and Greek.
French and Latin are still offered. Spanish was added in 1974. Mandarin Chinese was offered during the 2014-2015 school year, and again from 2017-2024.
No credit is required in the languages to graduate, though the school highly encourages students to take two years of a single language, as many colleges may require this for admission.
There are 6 teachers in this department.
Official Physical Education classes were not offered until 1953 due to a lack of space. The course was originally taught to girls only, from 1953 to 1956. The boys had interscholastic athletics, which at the time was their "physical education."
In 1959, the current high school was built with a large gymnasium, and for the first time Physical Education/Health classes could be taught to both boys and girls, albeit segregated by gender. The male teacher taught the boys and the female teacher, the girls. Health classes were also taught in this manner.
In the 1980s, the Health curriculum was enhanced, but still no full-time Health teacher was added. In 1995, Health was separated with its own full-time teacher. A second Health teacher was added in 2023 to accommodate for the required credit being increased from 0.5 to 1 for future classes.
In 2020, an Adaptive Physical Education teacher was hired to work district-wide, with the Special Education classes.
Students must earn 1 credit in Physical Education. Originally only 0.5 a credit was required in Health, but starting with the Class of 2027, 1 full credit is required in Health.
1 credit is required in Fine Arts. Students may take courses from Art or Music to fulfill this requirement.
Art
Art classes were added as a test program in the 1969-1970 school year, and then were permanently established in the fall of 1973. Originally, the teacher was part-time and served both the junior high and high schools. Eventually full-time teachers were hired for the high school.
There are 2 Art teachers at Gorham High School.
Due to the lack of adequate space or ventilation for a kiln, there is no ceramics program offered.
Music
Music classes are the oldest special class offered at the high school, introduced in 1887 with a part-time teacher. They were discontinued in 1902, and reinstated full-time in 1916. The teacher taught in all the Gorham schools, and the courses were offered after school.
In 1961, the high school band was established and a second teacher was hired to lead the high and junior high bands.
There are 2 Music teachers at Gorham High School.
Industrial Arts (1953-1988); Technology Education (1988-present)
Formerly its own department - will phase into Fine Arts in 2027
Technology Education, originally Industrial Arts, was established in 1953 as a department. Original courses over the years included wood, metals, graphics, electricity/electronics, and photography.
In 1988 the department was restructured and renamed Technology Education to include modern technology classes, including computer science, digital design, and digital media.
There were formerly 3 teachers in this department, but since 2025 there are only 2 teachers. Because of this budget cut, the required credit in Technology was reduced from 1 to 0.5. Starting with the Class of 2029, no credit in Technology will be required to graduate.
The department is being phased out by 2027, with the teachers joining the Fine Arts Department and the courses falling under that umbrella as well. Due to recent budget cuts and the phasing out, several courses have had to be cut.
Career Education is not an official department, but there are two career programs offered at Gorham High School, and one exploration program (does not offer credit). No credit is required in either of the credit-granting programs.
Jobs for Maine's Graduates (JMG)
JMG is a course that is designed to help students understand and gain the skills necessary for successful employment. It was established in 2016. There is 1 JMG teacher, formerly 2. It was originally offered only to juniors and seniors, but a four-year sequence is now available.
Extended Learning Opportunities (ELOs)
In 2022, a new program called Extended Learning Opportunities was introduced, in the past known as "cooperative education." The program allows students to explore the workforce through internships and real working experience, with those experiences being supervised and graded. Students may earn 0.5 credit for 60 hours in an ELO placement, and 1 credit for 120 hours.
Students discuss their interests with the ELO Coordinator, who will then facilitate an internship with a local business or company willing to employ the student.
Aspire Gorham (no credit given)
Aspire Gorham is a career exploration for all students, grades PK-12, across the five schools in Gorham. It provides career exposure and explorations, and connects the schools and students to businesses and community organizations. It is designed to help students learn more about future career possibilities, with age-appropriate activities.
The program was originally started under JMG, with grant money being used to fund it for five years.
Seeing the need to continue the Aspire Gorham program, the school department transferred it from grant money to regular school funding. The Aspire Gorham Coordinator position was changed to the ELO/Career Coordinator position and added to the Gorham School Department.
Formerly known as the Dual Enrollment Program, the Concurrent Enrollment Program was established in the fall of 2020. It allows students to earn up to 30 college credits for FREE at the University of Southern Maine, as well as some for Southern Maine Community College.
Students may take as few as 3 college credits or up to 30 over their four years, depending on how many courses they take and pass.
Each course grants both traditional high school credit as well as the free college credits.
Multilingual Learning (formerly known as ESOL, English for Speakers of Other Languages or ESL, English as a Second Language), is offered to students whose first language is not English. Students learn the basics of the English language, the culture and traditions of America, and they receive support in all their academics and activities at Gorham High School.
Special Education was established in 1973 with a Resource Room, aiding students with learning disabilities. Since then it has expanded to include functional life skills (Community Based Education), behavior programs, academic & emotional support, and autism programs.
Students who have an IEP (Individual Educational Plan) or 504 plan will be assigned a case manager/teacher who will manage their plan and progress.
There are 8 Special Education teachers at GHS, one part-time Behavior Analyst, and one part-time Speech Therapist, in addition to the numerous Educational Technicians (Ed Techs) who assist the teachers in the classrooms.
Alternative Education is designed to help students who may have trouble learning in the traditional classroom. It gives them a safe space to learn and in a method that better suits their individual needs. It often includes service learning, community-based learning, volunteering, outdoor excursions, and alternate lessons. The program currently has 2 teachers and 1 Ed Tech.
The program was first mentioned in 1986 in the yearbook, but then not mentioned again after 1990 until the 2006 yearbook, so the program may have been discontinued and later added again.
Prior to the fall of 2018, there were two Alt. Ed. programs at GHS. "BRIDGES" was the program for incoming freshmen, and "Humanities" was for sophomores and juniors. No program existed for seniors. They merged into one program, Humanities, in fall 2018.
In the spring of 2021, necessary budget cuts to the school budget eliminated the Alternative Education/Humanities program, transitioning those students back into general education. However, due to an obvious need for the program with students struggling to adapt in general education, it was added back in 2024 as the Lynx Program, with 2 teachers and 1 Ed Tech.