A half an hour before the official start of school Tuesday morning, the Tisbury School grounds were already bustling with children at play. The first student to arrive was eight-year-old Jonathan, a rising second-grader who spoke politely with the Gazette but declined to identify himself further.
“I don’t have a last name,” he said seriously, before breaking into a smile and heading toward the playground climbing structure. Before long, there were more youngsters on the swings and clambering atop the school’s beloved concrete elephant and camel.
On the other side of the school, older kids shot hoops on the outdoor basketball court — painted in the school’s blue and gold colors — and kicked a ball around the soccer field as more students arrived by bike, on foot and in family vehicles.
Fifth-grader Samantha Zuniga, who’s almost 11, waited for classmates at a café-style table outside the school. Samantha said her school day always starts early because her brother gets dropped off at Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School first.
As the 8:15 a.m. start time drew nearer, school buses started to arrive and the youngest Tisbury students began to stream into the schoolyard with parents, siblings and even grandparents in tow.
A bumper crop of 40 kindergartners is entering the school this year, principal John Custer told the Gazette. Last year’s Oct. 1 Tisbury School census counted 27 children in kindergarten and no more than 37 in any of the other eight grades.
After working all summer in an empty school, Mr. Custer and assistant principal Melissa Ogden were both beaming as they welcomed students and greeted families.
“If you ever wanted a reminder of the joy of working in the school, here it is,” Mr. Custer said. “I don’t wish summer away… but it’s not the same place and I don’t enjoy it as much as September through June.”
“This is the best part of the job: the kids. This is why we do what we do,” Ms. Ogden said.
For the same reason, it was a bittersweet first day of school for information technology director Sue Leonard, who is retiring in 2027 after 32 years at Tisbury School.
“I will miss seeing the kids every day, [but] it’s time for someone new,” Ms. Leonard said.
Over at the Edgartown School, guidance counselor Eric Butler was ready to help the students greet the new school year.
“Happy first day,” he said. “Good morning. Welcome back. Nice to see you.”
As the buses unloaded and kids were dropped off, some parents took pictures of their kids in front of the school sign while others headed to the cafeteria for a quick breakfast.
Members of the Edgartown police department were also present, greeting the students alongside Edgartown School principal Kate Campbell.
“It’s so nice to see everybody,” said Ms. Campbell. “You grew like five inches…I missed you guys.”
Before the first bell, families walked in twos and threes or fours and more, many holding hands in tandem as they made their way to the school’s front doors.
“Did you lose a tooth?” Ms. Campbell asked one student, who smiled gleefully as she passed by, a big gap in between her top front teeth.
At the Chilmark School, the first students to arrive were the Sykes sisters: Linen (5th grade), Poplar (7th grade) and Rain (kindergarten). The elder sisters held tightly to Rain, telling the Gazette that they wanted to do the honors of walking their youngest sibling inside, after which Poplar had to catch a bus for the West Tisbury School.
“I’m excited to do art,” Rain said.
At the front door, Chilmark School principal Kate Squire greeted arriving pupils with hugs and fist bumps. The students were equally enthusiastic to see her.
“Everybody looked like they grew three inches over the summer, so that brings a lot of joy and energy to the building,” Ms. Squire said.
She’s particularly looking forward to seeing students and staff use the new Chilmark Preschool building, unveiled in August. The $4.6 million project provides the preschool its own space for the first time and doubled its capacity.
”We’re just really excited about some of the multi-age and project-based learning we have planned for the year,” Ms. Squire said.
Margo Lee, who was dropping Phoebe off for kindergarten and Teddy for preschool, said the family is thrilled about the new building.
“We’re very excited,” she said.
This article appears in September 11, 2026.