Lana Cohen

Staff Writer

Lana covers education for the Portland Press Herald. She joins the Press Herald from VTDigger, where she covered Chittenden County, Vermont’s population center. Previously she was a Report for America fellow in Mendocino County, covering environmental news for a digital outlet and a public radio station. She also reported on the environment for digital news outlet, WhoWhatWhy. In her spare time Lana enjoys hiking with her Goldendoodle, Rigby, running, surfing and baking.

Latest

Published
June 20, 2023

Portland school district prepares for more English language learners

Over 25% of the Portland Public School District’s students are English language learners.
Published
June 17, 2023

Maine Senate overwhelmingly votes down proposed vehicle inspection fee hike

The House narrowly approved the bill Thursday, but the significant margin by which the Senate voted it down makes its passage very unlikely.
Published
June 14, 2023

Federal lawsuit challenges Maine’s limits on public funding for religious schools

The Catholic Diocese of Portland, St. Dominic Academy in Auburn and parents of a student from Whitefield say the state’s tuition program discriminates against religious schools.
Published
June 12, 2023

Farmers whose lands were polluted urge state to disburse PFAS relief funds

The state may begin distributing $60 million in relief funding this summer.
Published
May 30, 2023

Maine’s high school graduation rate dropped during the pandemic, but may be recovering

This year’s grads were freshmen when the pandemic hit, making this past year their first relatively normal high school experience.
Published
May 28, 2023

Maine adjunct professors join push for wage increases

The instructors acknowledge they have different roles than full-time faculty but say they should be paid similarly for performing the same tasks.
Published
May 22, 2023

UMaine System trustees approve tuition, fee increases

Citing declining enrollment, inflation and other financial pressures, the board adopts a budget that will raise tuition 3% for in-state students beginning this fall. Room and board and student fees also will rise.
Published
May 22, 2023

Portland schools struggle to enroll students amid influx of asylum seekers

The city school district has enrolled over 800 students whose primary language is not English this school year – about twice the rate of the previous year.
Published
May 11, 2023

Portland announces finalists for superintendent role

Two public school administrators, Ryan Scallon of Philadelphia and Eric Moore of Minneapolis, are the top candidates to replace Xavier Botana.
Published
May 4, 2023

Bills aim to restrict library books, discussions of race in Maine schools

Three measures presented Thursday ran into a flood of opposition from parents, librarians and others who argue that the legislation is based on false information about what and how students are taught in public schools.

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