Schools
Adult education on Martha’s Vineyard dates back to the 1970s, but this month the old idea will be expanded and relaunched under the leadership of former high school Spanish teacher Lynn Ditchfield.
In a game that was decided by the end of the first half, the Vineyard football team dominated Bishop Connolly 43-0 in their home opener on Friday to gain an early share of the division lead in the Mayflower League large.
For coach Donald Herman the rout was the perfect antidote to the bitter pill of last week’s 23-21 loss to Carver, a game in which the Vineyarders took a lead with less than two minutes to play, only to give it back in the closing seconds on a Carver touchdown and two-point conversion.
MCAS test results, budget concerns, professional development and student enrollment were all topics for discussion at the first all-Island school committee meeting of the new school year.
In a game as thrilling as it was heartbreaking, the Carver Crusaders defeated the Vineyarders football team 23-21 on Friday night after scoring a game-tying touchdown and converting a two-point attempt with seconds left on the clock.
The Vineyarders (1-1) had late game heroics of their own, scoring with 1:38 on the clock when Mike McCarthy hit Nick Gross in the end zone for an 11-yard touchdown pass to take a 21-15 lead. But the Crusaders stormed right back and tied the game on a 35-yard touchdown run by Brandon Holbrook.
Island educators began to analyze the good and less good news contained in the 2008 Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) scores released Wednesday, while they voiced continued frustration at what they say are unrealistic provisions in the federal Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for the tests.
Some of the good news: all six Island schools met state targets for the school’s overall average percentage, known as the composite performance index, in both English and math.
The Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School football team got off to a solid start of the season Friday with a convincing, no-nonsense 14-0 win over familiar rival Old Rochester on a rainy night in Mattapoisett.
The Vineyarders ran the option play to perfection all night, and senior Mike McCarthy scored both touchdowns on short runs in the first half to put the game away. A steady rain fell throughout the game making for soggy field conditions, but the Vineyarders’ defense was still able to clamp down and shut down the Bulldogs’ attack.