PPS in the Press
Below is a sampling of media coverage highlighting the great students, staff, schools and programs of the Portland Public Schools:
![Photo of CBHS graduation 2026 caps in air]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1780673554/portlandschoolsorg/kbgqwauqnizsmnixcf8j/CBHSGraduationPhoto1.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1780673554/portlandschoolsorg/kbgqwauqnizsmnixcf8j/CBHSGraduationPhoto1.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1780673554/portlandschoolsorg/kbgqwauqnizsmnixcf8j/CBHSGraduationPhoto1.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_4/v1780673554/portlandschoolsorg/kbgqwauqnizsmnixcf8j/CBHSGraduationPhoto1.jpg","width":1200},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_5/v1780673554/portlandschoolsorg/kbgqwauqnizsmnixcf8j/CBHSGraduationPhoto1.jpg","width":1600},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_6/v1780673554/portlandschoolsorg/kbgqwauqnizsmnixcf8j/CBHSGraduationPhoto1.jpg","width":2200}])
This great story by WGME-TV, Channel 13 reporter Scott Episcopo is about Casco Bay High School's June 4 graduation ceremony for the Class of 2026. The June 5, 2026 story really showcases students' voices and the true spirit of Casco Bay!
![Photo of PHS senior David Tit]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1780596187/portlandschoolsorg/xoqqjumd7y18vfkwen0y/DavidTitPPHphoto.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1780596187/portlandschoolsorg/xoqqjumd7y18vfkwen0y/DavidTitPPHphoto.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1780596187/portlandschoolsorg/xoqqjumd7y18vfkwen0y/DavidTitPPHphoto.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1780596187/portlandschoolsorg/xoqqjumd7y18vfkwen0y/DavidTitPPHphoto.jpg","width":1200}])
This June 3, 2026 Portland Press Herald story highlights 12 seniors throughout Maine who are leaving high school to make their impact on the world, but aren’t waiting until they receive their diplomas to start making a difference. Portland High School senior David Tit is one of those featured. Read his story in the article.
![Nludi Celestino and family]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1779826821/portlandschoolsorg/xh68bhwcgre7lamajayr/NludiCelestinoandfamily.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1779826821/portlandschoolsorg/xh68bhwcgre7lamajayr/NludiCelestinoandfamily.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1779826821/portlandschoolsorg/xh68bhwcgre7lamajayr/NludiCelestinoandfamily.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_4/v1779826821/portlandschoolsorg/xh68bhwcgre7lamajayr/NludiCelestinoandfamily.jpg","width":1200},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1779826821/portlandschoolsorg/xh68bhwcgre7lamajayr/NludiCelestinoandfamily.jpg","width":1280}])
Check out this May 26, 2026 story from WMTW-TV Channel 8 story on Nludi Celestino, a Casco Bay High School senior chosen May 6 as Boys & Girls Clubs of America 2026 Maine State Youth of the Year! He entered the state competition after being selected as Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Maine’s Youth of the Year from a pool of candidates across the Southern Maine clubs in April. Now he's headed to compete in the Youth of the Year regional competition in June.
![Photo of Calais schools staff]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1780079525/portlandschoolsorg/zqa5fp4gfp0dpdgz4leo/RMTNewappMaineMonitorstory.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1780079525/portlandschoolsorg/zqa5fp4gfp0dpdgz4leo/RMTNewappMaineMonitorstory.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1780079525/portlandschoolsorg/zqa5fp4gfp0dpdgz4leo/RMTNewappMaineMonitorstory.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1780079525/portlandschoolsorg/zqa5fp4gfp0dpdgz4leo/RMTNewappMaineMonitorstory.jpg","width":1159}])
This May 26, 2026 story by The Maine Monitor says that schools in Calais, Maine, are testing OrangePasses, a digital hall pass system by ReachMyTeach, through a free trial that could lead to full adoption in the 2026‑27 school year. The trial is expected to show whether the new app improves student flow and reduces disruptions. ReachMyTeach was cofounded in 2021 by a former Deering High School student, Aidan Blum Levine, and two of his teachers to better serve Maine’s diverse student population. As a student at Deering, Blum Levine coded the first version of the ReachMyTeach communications app as a school project with help from his computer science teacher, Jeff Borland, who later became a company cofounder.
![FY27 Budget logo]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1779301085/portlandschoolsorg/ztdzcgunmw3aqgtlo1e7/FY27BudgetLogoFINALREVISED.png","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1779301085/portlandschoolsorg/ztdzcgunmw3aqgtlo1e7/FY27BudgetLogoFINALREVISED.png","width":512}])
This May 19, 2026 Portland Press Herald story recounts the City Council's May 18 vote to approve the Board of Public Education’s recommended $179.3 million school budget for fiscal year 2027 (FY27), sending it out to Portland voters for a final say on Tuesday, June 9. The vote was unanimous on the part of all the councilors present and Mayor Mark Dion.
Councilor April Fournier, chair of the City’s Finance Committee, praised the work that went into this year’s budget process, and described the budget as one that “really supports our students, supports staff and supports the community. I’m very, very proud of our schools and think the investment is worth it.”
![Portrait of Gerald Talbot on Talbot School wall]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1779300413/portlandschoolsorg/zlnbit73yxro4zek6ivt/GeraldETalbotShetterlyportrait.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1779300413/portlandschoolsorg/zlnbit73yxro4zek6ivt/GeraldETalbotShetterlyportrait.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1779300413/portlandschoolsorg/zlnbit73yxro4zek6ivt/GeraldETalbotShetterlyportrait.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_4/v1779300413/portlandschoolsorg/zlnbit73yxro4zek6ivt/GeraldETalbotShetterlyportrait.jpg","width":1200},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_5/v1779300413/portlandschoolsorg/zlnbit73yxro4zek6ivt/GeraldETalbotShetterlyportrait.jpg","width":1600},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_6/v1779300413/portlandschoolsorg/zlnbit73yxro4zek6ivt/GeraldETalbotShetterlyportrait.jpg","width":2200}])
Gerald E. Talbot, the first Black person elected to the Maine state legislature and the civil rights icon for whom Talbot Community School is named, died May 9, 2026 at the age of 94. This May 12, 2026 WMTW-TV Channel 8 story includes information about a letter that Superintendent Ryan Scallon sent to the PPS community upon learning of his passing. Scallon wrote, "Mr. Talbot would ask to be driven by the building so he could check on his school. That image stays with me. A man who spent his life opening doors for others wanted, near the end, to look in on the children he had helped make room for."
![Photo of Amanda Rowe]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1779299729/portlandschoolsorg/j2xwnobiqrajq9bpwk3b/AmandaRowe.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1779299729/portlandschoolsorg/j2xwnobiqrajq9bpwk3b/AmandaRowe.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1779299729/portlandschoolsorg/j2xwnobiqrajq9bpwk3b/AmandaRowe.jpg","width":800}])
This May 6, 2026 Portland Press Herald op-ed by the education and public relations chair for the Maine Association of School Nurses, speaks to the importance of school nurses and sings the praises of the late PPS school nurse Amanda Rowe, for whom Rowe Elementary School is named. The association has created a new scholarship in her honor, stating: "Nowhere is the profound impact of this profession more evident than in the life and legacy of Amanda Rowe. A dedicated school nurse from Portland, Maine, Amanda served her community with a level of compassion and tenacity that redefined the role."
![Photo of May 4 gubernatorial forum at Rowe]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1779298918/portlandschoolsorg/tvrkgbnssm4tiqa8gjze/GubernatorialForumChannel6.png","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1779298918/portlandschoolsorg/tvrkgbnssm4tiqa8gjze/GubernatorialForumChannel6.png","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1779298918/portlandschoolsorg/tvrkgbnssm4tiqa8gjze/GubernatorialForumChannel6.png","width":748}])
On May 4, 2026, the Portland Public Schools hosted a nonpartisan gubernatorial candidate forum so that the community could learn the candidates' positions on educational issues. The event, held at Rowe Elementary School and which drew over 200 community members, was moderated by Deering High School students and provided an opportunity to hear how the candidates’ plans could impact students, families, and schools. WCSH Newscenter Channel 6 produced this May 5, 2026 story about the event.
![Screenshot of Channel 8 coverage of STEM Expo at DHS]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1777394328/portlandschoolsorg/bc3h3rwaaromdvtvljte/STEMExpoScreenShot2026.png","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1777394328/portlandschoolsorg/bc3h3rwaaromdvtvljte/STEMExpoScreenShot2026.png","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1777394328/portlandschoolsorg/bc3h3rwaaromdvtvljte/STEMExpoScreenShot2026.png","width":788}])
PPS students got a hands-on look at science, technology, engineering and math, and even the weather, at the 12th annual STEM Expo, held in March and April at three locations: Portland and Deering high schools and at Talbot Community School. The event, made possible each year thanks to our generous sponsor EnviroLogix, showcases and expands the STEM knowledge of Portland Public Schools students and exposes them to exciting STEM career opportunities. WMTW-TV Channel 8 covered the April 2 event at Deering, which featured 45 exhibitors showcasing a wide range of fields, including aquaculture, engineering, chemical reactions, farming and the human body.
![The maple sugar house at PATHS]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1773163316/portlandschoolsorg/lr1bimjqdgl3whexrs3h/PATHSsugarhouse.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1773163316/portlandschoolsorg/lr1bimjqdgl3whexrs3h/PATHSsugarhouse.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1773163316/portlandschoolsorg/lr1bimjqdgl3whexrs3h/PATHSsugarhouse.jpg","width":675}])
The student-built Sugar House at the Portland Arts & Technology High School (PATHS) is featured in this March 9, 2026, Portland Press Herald story. The PATHS Sugar House, which opened in 2022, is used by PATHS students in the Horticulture program to learn about trees and the environment as they collect sap and boil it down to create maple syrup to use in the school’s culinary program.