School type Magnet School Authority Enrollment 149 Mascot Penguin Founded 1995 | Established 1995 Director Luke Shorty Phone +1 207-325-3600 Number of students 149 | |
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USNWR ranking 14th (National), 1st (New England) Address 95 High St, Limestone, ME 04750, USA District Maine School Of Science & Math Similar Limestone Community School, Caribou Middle School, Caribou Alternative High Sch, Caribou High School, Fort Fairfield Elementa Profiles | ||
The Maine School of Science and Mathematics (MSSM) is a residential magnet high school in Limestone, Maine.
MSSM serves students from all over the state of Maine, as well as youth from other states and international students. It is a high school for students in grades 9–12, and its summer program is for boys and girls from grades 5–9. MSSM is an all-residential boarding school with two dormitories and a total capacity of 156 students. The school currently has 153 attending students.
After the announcement that Loring Air Force Base would be closed, funding from the Defense Reauthorization Bill provided for the creation of the Maine School of Science and Mathematics at the site of Limestone High School, which was going to lose many of its students upon the closure of the base. The town's elementary school was eventually converted into dormitories for the school, as they are located on the same property. MSSM continues to share the former Limestone High School building with the local Limestone Community School. Each school occupies approximately half of the building. Due to their small size and physical proximity, the two schools also share most of their sports teams. In 2014, the school acquired a new dormitory, dubbed "Limestone Manor", in the center of town. The building housed a nursing home until the business relocated in 2013. Currently, the Limestone Manor, a male-only dormitory, houses close to 30 students.
Chartered and funded by the Maine State Legislature, MSSM opened with a pioneer class in 1995. At that time, it was only the eleventh statewide residential magnet school specializing in mathematics and science education in the United States and the only school of its kind in New England. Both remain true today. It is the only magnet school currently operating in Maine.
MSSM graduates attend leading colleges around the country. In 2013, U.S. News & World Report ranked MSSM #13 on its list of "America's Best High Schools," a ranking of public high schools in the United States. The school is a member of the National Consortium for Specialized Secondary Schools of Mathematics, Science and Technology (NCSSSMST).