For Thursday, June 11
Hit the GLIC!
The Grade-Level Information Center has information that is relevant for each class.
An index and archive for this year’s weekly Mustang Minutes
Our Daily Announcements to our students
Portage Central High School Summer Office Hours:
The PCHS Main Office will be open during the following hours this summer: Mondays - Thursdays from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm & 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm. The office is closed on Fridays.
Please note: the office will also be closed on Thursday, July 2 for the Fourth of July Holiday.
Did your PCHS student miss a final exam?
Our Main Office is open by appointment for exam make-ups on Monday through Thursday during summer office hours (listed above). To schedule a makeup exam, please call Kathy Jepson at (269) 323-5231 or send an email to her at kjepson@portageps.org. Please keep in mind that finals will be graded when teachers return to school at the end of August. The final course grade will be updated on the transcript in September.
Does your Portage Central student need a work permit?
Work permits can be picked up in the Main Office, and you can also find them at: https://www.michigan.gov/leo/bureaus-agencies/ber/wage-and-hour/work-permits
Find the correct age range, click and print. Your student fills out section one, their future employer fills out section two and lastly your student brings it to us for the final verification and signature.
2026-2027 Student Class Schedules
Next year’s student schedules will be released in Skyward in mid-August. Even though those schedules will be released, please understand that schedules are always subject to change due to ongoing enrollments throughout the month of August. Schedule change requests must be made via the paper schedule change form that can be found in the Counseling Office after schedules have been released. Counselors will begin to process schedule change requests after they return to their offices on August 31, 2026.
Want to order pictures from Graduation?
We are so fortunate to work with two PC dads who are also wonderful photographers, and they take wonderful pictures throughout the year here. They are also all over the place at Graduation, capturing as many memories as possible. They make those pictures available to all of us for a reasonable cost. Just visit the link below to take a look.
https://www.jpike.net/Clients/PCHS/PCHS-Activities/2026-Graduation
Did you miss RideOut and Graduation?
No worries: you can watch them on YouTube!
Both the Mustang RideOut and Graduation were livestreamed and then recorded, so friends and family can watch these wonderful events all around the world. Just click here to go to PC’s YouTube channel, share that link with anyone who can’t be there, and we can celebrate, Together.
Important things for our rising seniors to keep in mind!
Class of 2027 Senior planning and post-secondary information
Senior year goes fast – so let’s start preparing now! As we prepare for the 2026-2027 school year, we have important information for you to consider from the Counseling Office.
High School Graduation Audit Information: Senior Letter
The PC Counseling Team has curated a variety of resources for the Class of 2027 as the students begin planning for after graduation. Hit this link: Post Secondary Planning Resources
College applications will open in August.
In September, the students will receive a school email with the link to register for Parchment which is the website the student uses to send their official transcripts for college applications and the NCAA. Students can set up their Parchment account with a parent, since students under 18 need parent approval.
PLEASE NOTE: Official transcripts for colleges will be released mid-September to accommodate seniors enrolling at PC, as well as incomplete and summer school coursework. This process will NOT affect college applications.
Outstanding fines and unserved consequences
Now that the dust of the 2025-2026 school year has settled, we began our review of students who have outstanding fines and unserved consequences. Over the summer, we will be reaching out to students and families about collecting materials and/or fines, and about community service opportunities to take care of unserved detention time. Notifications will be sent to the email address you have registered in Skyward. Thanks for taking care of these outstanding issues!
Want to get community service hours over the summer?
Cool! Let’s do them here at PC!
We have been blessed to have a lot of kids help out here over the summer over the past 20+ years, doing a wide variety of things, from watering trees to cleaning to creating cool projects to welcome our students back in August. If you are ever interested, drop me an email anytime – ealburtus@portageps.org – and we can get some fun work done together. Thanks for considering it!
Know someone moving to our school district?
Families new to Portage Public Schools can visit our district PPS Enrollment website and select the 'New Families' link to register their student(s). If you have questions specific to high school enrollment, please email our registrar, Nicole Gutshall, at ngutshall@portageps.org. She will be checking emails periodically over the summer.
Important note to share with families enrolling over the summer: Online enrollment will be closed from July 15, through August 4, and will reopen on Wednesday, August 5 due to a planned Skyward upgrade. As part of this transition, the district’s online enrollment application will be temporarily unavailable.
For more general information on our high school please visit the Central High School website. If you need to speak with someone, please call our Main Office at 269-323-5200 Monday - Thursday from 9 am - 12 pm and 1 pm - 3 pm.
For general enrollment questions, please visit our district enrollment website or call the PPS Administration Building at 269-323-5000. You can also visit them at 8107 Mustang Drive, Portage, MI. The PPS Administration Building is open Monday - Thursday from 8 am - 4 pm.
Save these tentative dates for the upcoming 2026-2027 school year!
Monday, August 24 is Freshman Orientation
Freshman Orientation goes from 8 am to 11:30 am on Monday, August 24th. It will be held in the Portage Central High School Gymnasium. Incoming 9th graders should be here by 7:45 am and wait outside the gymnasium doors until they are welcomed in by our Link Crew Leaders. We can’t wait to meet you all and are excited to welcome you to the PCHS family! If you have any questions about Orientation, please contact Nikki Smith, Activities Director, at nsmith@portageps.org or 269-323-5265. More information will be coming your way later this year.
And on Monday, August 24th, there is a Code of Conduct Meeting at 11:30 am in the Auditorium. If your child is a 9th grader and plans to participate in Athletics or Activities such as Archery, Debate, DECA, E-Sports, the Fall Play, Forensics, HOSA, Marching Band, Model UN, and the Spring Musical, please attend this meeting. More information will be forthcoming.
Tuesday, August 25th is the PC Open House
The Portage Central High School Open House will be held on Tuesday, August 25th from 6:30 pm to 8 pm. There will be an Activities Fair in Centennial Park, weather permitting (otherwise it will be held in the Commons), so students can get club information before school starts. There will also be an open Meet and Greet to get to know your students’ teachers, students can find their lockers and classes, you can purchase Lunch/Parking/Athletic passes, and visit the school store. This is a great opportunity to get to know Portage Central High School before school starts.
And thank you…
I know looking and reading through Mustang Minutes each week is a lot. There is so much going on around here – which is both wonderful and overwhelming at times. I have learned a great deal about Us over the years, and one thing I know for sure is that Portage Central is a reflection of our broader community – that is to say, of You. And as always, all of us here are committed to working to meet our community’s needs – and to communicate well, all along the way.
Signing off, for now. I wish you the very happiest of summers.
In so much respect for you all,
Eric Alburtus
And if you want even more PC news…