Tuesday marked the last day of school and the first afternoon of summer vacation for most Island students. At the Edgartown School, Ben Fuller, age eight, savored his freedom outside the double doors, swinging his backpack back and forth. He finished the second grade Tuesday, and his older brother Jaydon finished the fourth grade.
Ben said he was looking forward to a packed summer.
“I do a lot of camps and stuff. There’s a camp I do in Maine and I also do sailing,” he said.
Jaydon said his class spent the morning cleaning up the classroom and watching James and the Giant Peach. Reflecting on the year behind him, he said learning division had been an educational milestone.
“I got it right away,” Jaydon said. He added that he would miss his friends, two of them in particular.
“I’m gonna miss my friends too,” Ben said, his eyes on his older brother.
Nearby, principal John Stevens doled out hugs and waved at students in vehicles pulling away from the carpool line. Mr. Stevens will retire on July 31 after 12 years leading the school. The sidewalk was lined with chalk-drawn portraits of students. Mr. Stevens pointed at the first drawing in the line: a bespectacled man in a pink jacket.
“That’s me right there supposedly,” he said. “That’s me waving good-bye.”
Mr. Stevens will work with the next principal, Shelley Einbender-Fleischmann for the first part of the summer to smooth the transition.
Holding a wrapped appreciation gift and watching the last of the students leave with parents, he called the moment bittersweet. He has worked in education as a teacher and an administrator for more than 40 years.
“I’ve worked hard to get the school in good shape and the staff in a good place,” he said.
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