Whitney Schroeder is curious, with an unassuming nature. She is also the valedictorian of the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School class of 2017.

As the strains of Pomp and Circumstance floated out of the Tabernacle Sunday, 154 graduates in the class of 2016 marched toward their futures.

Amid a flurry of caps and gowns on Sunday afternoon, the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School class of 2015 graduated at the Trinity Park Tabernacle in Oak Bluffs.

Wearing wreaths of flowers in their hair, eight graduates at the Martha's Vineyard Public Charter School celebrated their high school careers Sunday. The ceremony was marked by a heartfelt and casual atmosphere.

Friends, family and the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School class of 2014 filled the Trinity Park Tabernacle in Oak Bluffs on Sunday afternoon. Per tradition for the graduates, the boys wore purple caps and gowns and the girls wore white.

The Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School class of 2014 showed promise four years ago as freshmen, their teachers said. At class night Friday they will be recognized for their achievements when more than $1 million is awarded in student scholarships, a first in school history.

Valedictorian Sarah Ortlip-Sommers was editor of the school newspaper and took more AP classes in a year than most take in four. She calls her violin an extension of herself and credits her parents Michele Ortlip and Josh Summers for her achievements.

Families and students gathered beneath a whimsically-decorated tent Sunday afternoon to celebrate the Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School graduation. “Trust your heart,” Fawn Pelletier, a 13-year student of the school told her four fellow graduates.

On Thursday afternoon, 10 days before graduation, the small class from the Martha's Vineyard Public Charter School gathered at the Polly Hill Arboretum for lunch in the garden.

Charter School Reaches Milestone: First Graduation for Honored Four

By JOSHUA SABATINI

Every school graduation is important. But the graduation taking
place this Saturday, June 2, from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Martha's
Vineyard Public Charter School is in a class of its own.