Priya Natarajan

Priya is excited to be the first assistant principal at CBHS after two years serving as the district’s high school math instructional coach, working to advance school success plans and support teachers across the district. She joined the Portland Public Schools in 2002, first teaching at Deering High School before becoming a math teacher at Casco Bay High School. She has also served as an adjunct lecturer at the University of Southern Maine and Eastern Maine Community College. Prior to her work at PPS, Priya was a founding teacher at the Boston Arts Academy in the Boston Public Schools for four years. She won the 2017 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching in the mathematics category and has been active in state and local efforts to recruit and retain teachers and is passionate about celebrating the teaching profession and making it a more sustainable, joyous and rewarding career pathway. She continues to be active in several district-wide projects, including the High School Redesign Team, ESOL/SLIFE curriculum and assessment, data visualization and analysis and 8th/9th grade transitions. Priya holds a master’s degree in education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Ohio University. She completed both her ESOL endorsement and the Leadership for Tomorrow’s Schools program at the University of Southern Maine, and is currently a board member of India Association of Maine, ILAP (Immigrant