The Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School class of 2026 celebrated their graduation on Saturday, walking to the stage on the school grounds wearing the traditional purple and white flower crowns perched atop their heads. Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams played as parents, teachers, friends and the wider Island community cheered them on.
At 15 students strong, this year’s graduating class was the second largest in the school’s history. The students’ interests are varied, ranging from social justice, to pharmacology, to arts graphic, theatrical and culinary. But their mentors said they are united by a commitment to learning, and to each other.
“You are alchemists, uniquely harmonious, embracing and pushing each other forward,” Spanish teacher and college counselor Victoria Dryfoos told the class. “Many times I have heard you lift each other up, speak kindly, and step aside so another one can shine.”
Pete Steedman, who has directed the charter school since 2018 but steps down at the end of this year, was visibly emotional as he wished his final class of graduates well.
He said he will most miss the conversations he has with students who walk in and out of his office all day long. In one of those recent talks, he said a second grade student asked if Mr. Steedman’s departure meant the charter school would get rid of its six foundational pillars: trust, respect, freedom, responsibility, democracy, and cooperation.
While Mr. Steedman assured that student — and Sunday’s audience — that the pillars would endure, he said that this year’s graduating class brings to mind a seventh pillar: fortitude.
“[This class had] the fortitude to take on the most rigorous academic program in the world... the fortitude to come to school on the most challenging of academic days, and to face their fears, no matter how large the obstacle they created in their minds,” Mr. Steedman said. “The fortitude to be true to themselves, to embrace who they really are.”
Several graduates spoke about how the charter school changed their lives.
Winter Muric started commuting to the school from the mainland when she was 11 years old. Though she didn’t love waking up at 5:30 a.m. every day to catch her boat, she said she wouldn’t have had it any other way.
“I still view charter as I did when I was 11: as a magical oasis where everyone is not only represented, but celebrated,” she said.
For Bangii-Kai Bellecourt, the charter school was an intellectual incubator, where bonds between students were reinforced through the exploration of unfamiliar perspectives and ideas.
“Something has brought us all here, from the warm currents of Hawaii and Brazil to those who have called this cold coast home all of their lives,” Mr. Bellecourt said. “All of our paths have joined together for the past four years.”
Each class of charter school students, from kindergarten through high school, presented the graduates with handmade gifts, and faculty awarded them books related to their interests and aspirations. Graduates also received tens of thousands of dollars in scholarships from various community organizations.
Before receiving their diplomas, which Mr. Steedman told the crowd are “the most prestigious awards of all,” the students unfurled their own gift to the school: silk banners, hand-dyed yellow, indigo and pink to match the heirloom banners that decorate the charter school graduation tent each year.
“The indigo represents our school and our time here, while these bright pink and yellow colors are supposed to represent our journey and freedom that’s now ahead of us,” graduating senior Nicola Capece said.
With diplomas finally in hand, the newly minted graduates marched off the stage to Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right by Joan Baez.
As they hugged their families, friends and one another, Ms. Baez sang: “Goodbye’s too good a word, babe, so I’ll just say, ‘fare thee well.’”
The members of the class of 2026 are: Amanda Silva, Angel Walker, Aubriel Tomkins, Bangii-Kai Bellecourt, Gabriela Lino, Ian Patricio, Jack Baer, Kali Spain, Nicola Capece, Landen Elderkin, Phoebe Nichols, Reid Kerns, Rose Smilie, Winter Muric and Wyatt McCarthy.
Comments
Comment policy »