Photos+Video
2017 Promotional Video
A short video by PPS with pre-Covid emphases
THIS SHORT promotional video from 2017 was apparently produced by Portland Public Schools' communications staff, in collaboration with MLC. It features then-Vice-Principal Margarita Wilson, high school teacher Chris Snyderbrown, parent Katherine Lowry, and high school students Chloe Sipp, Jaime Messina, Ben Johnson, and Monica Bost.
The video was brought (back) to light in a March 3, 2026 Facebook post by Emily Bernhardt Troper, as MLC's recruitment effort began to step up following PPS's reprieve on high school closure.
The video appears to make an effort to show MLC's high school program connecting with other PPS schools and programs, more than emphasizing its distinctiveness or difference. Those interviewed mention student reponsibility and self-direction, but also structure and ability to participate in other high schools' mainstream offerings including languages and sports. The video does communicate an MLC emphasis on compassion, connection, and "character skillset," and it mentions equity, but not neurodivergence or gender expression.
Final image, students at the Portland Art Museum, from PPS's 2017 MLC recruitment video.
If you have recollections about the video, please share them.