My photo editor Michele McDonald and I had been trying to come up with a story idea that I could work on from time to time on slow days. Something I could follow over time. One of us, probably her, looked up Cliff Island, the outermost island in Casco Bay, and saw they had a one-room schoolhouse. We had so many questions. Does the teacher take a boat out to the island every day? How many kids go to this school?

McDonald emailed Portland Public Schools and for a few months we didn’t get a response. Right before the start of the 2018-2019 school year, we got the go-ahead.

I went out on the third day of school and met Jenny Baum, the island’s new teacher who had moved from New York City, and her two students, first-grader Chloe Blomquist and second-grader Edward Anderson. I immediately liked Baum, who is funny, creative and clearly loved being a teacher. She and the parents of the two students were open to a long-term photo story. Sometimes the pieces fall into place nicely.

Cliff Island’s one-room schoolhouse has been in operation since the 1880s and is truly a cornerstone of the community. Island residents say that schools are the lifeblood of the islands. Without them, they fear year-round residents might disappear.

I tried to go to Cliff about once a month. I photographed in the classroom and sometimes, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I went with the whole school – all three of them – on the ferry to Long Island’s school. They had specialty classes there, such as art and music. The trips also gave Edward and Chloe a chance to interact with other children – other island kids with whom they will ride the 6 a.m. boat when they get to sixth grade and attend middle school on the mainland.

Edward and Chloe have lived on the island since they were born. Edward’s grandfather grew up on Cliff and also attended school at the one-room schoolhouse. Chloe’s father came to the island to work as a sternman for Edward’s grandfather in the early 2000s.

“Edward and Chloe do have a very special bond,” Baum said. “Especially when we travel to Long together, it feels to me like we’re even tighter. When we leave the island, our bond becomes even stronger because we know that we can count on each other, they know that they can count on each other, through thick and thin.”

Sitting in her rented house the day after classes ended in June, she reflected on her first year on Cliff.

“I get emotional, because Edward and Chloe really helped me,” she said. “There were many times they were the only people I interacted with all day, and I just love them so much. I feel like in the beginning I was an outsider, and now I really feel loved and really part of this community and so thankful to be accepted.”