The Menemsha School still has a great old-fashioned school bell, sounded daily by a rope that dangles down from the roof.

Children of different grades still sit in class side by side and play together in a playground bordered by a foresty area they call "twiggyland." Many townspeople were educated here, in the same place as their parents and grandparents.

Today, the challenge to Chilmark is maintaining the special qualities of this rural school while making room for growth.

The Aquinnah select board moved to advance two regional projects Tuesday: the creation of a Martha’s Vineyard housing bank and the replacement of Chilmark School’s HVAC system.

A bumper crop of kindergarteners is headed for the Chilmark School in 2022, and principal Susan Stevens is looking for space to accommodate them all.

The PTO is gathering sponsorships and auction items for an online fundraiser to benefit the school's outing program.

Chilmark selectmen agreed Tuesday to use a state grant designated for energy saving projects to upgrade the heating system at the Chilmark School.

Chilmark, the sprawling town of 19 square miles, was boiled down to the size of a classroom on Thursday morning.

Student enrollment is slightly down this year in Martha’s Vineyard public schools, according to the annual Oct. 1 school census.

Around the Island, an expected 2,155 students are dusting off backpacks, sharpening pencils and choosing first-day outfits. The first day of school is Tuesday.

A renovation project at the Chilmark School went slightly over budget this summer, leaving not enough cash on hand to address a faulty boiler in the school heating system. Members of the up-Island district committee discussed the problem.

In the Chilmark School Thursday morning head of school Susan Stevens stood among parents and grandparents, giving kids high fives. “Welcome back! Glad you’re here!” she said. It was the common refrain as students around the Island headed back to classrooms to begin a new school year.