Education · Portland, OR Metro · September 1, 2026
Portland Public Schools' Staff Welcome-Back Video Features Drag Performer
According to a video first flagged by Libs of TikTok and reported by Fox News Digital, Portland Public Schools (PPS) opened an official back-to-school Facebook video for teachers, principals and staff with a message from drag performer Poison Waters, whose legal name is Kevin Cook. Waters was identified onscreen as an 'advocate, educator and host' and thanked district employees, saying, 'I'm here to wish you all a successful 2026, 2027 school year... together we rise with excellence and purpose.' The video, posted Friday as the 2026-27 school year began, was directed at PPS staff rather than students directly, per the article text. Heritage Foundation education fellow Corey DeAngelis criticized the district in a statement to Fox News Digital, calling the video 'beyond parody' and accusing PPS of promoting 'gender ideology' to children. A Captain on the ground who submitted this story described it as a taxpayer-funded institution using a drag performer to make a cultural statement; that characterization is the reporter's own view and is noted here as unverified opinion, not established fact.
Source: thegatewaypundit.com
Why Bible-Believing Christians Should Care
Portland Public Schools is a taxpayer-funded institution entrusted with educating children, not advancing a particular sexual or gender ideology. Even framed as a staff greeting, the district's choice to feature a drag performer as its public face for the new school year signals which values it wishes associated with its brand. Scripture affirms that God created humanity male and female and calls confusion of that order what it is. Parents who assume their local public school holds neutral or traditional values should not take that for granted; institutions can shift their public messaging while retaining a familiar name. Christian parents and taxpayers have a legitimate interest in knowing what values their district promotes with public funds.
Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness — Isaiah 5:20
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🖋 The editor wrote a From the Desk column on this story: Portland Taught the Teachers First
From the book
The most potent weapon against parents is Rule 3. Educators reframe moral and cultural questions as technical or medical ones. A dispute over explicit material becomes a matter of library science. A dispute over gender identity becomes a matter of mental health best practice. The activist tells the parent he is not an educator, using the appeal to authority to sever the parent's confidence in his own judgment.
— Chapter 19, “Capture in K-12”
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