For four years now, since its inception in 1997, the state-sponsored special English language program has been growing.

Island students looking forward to school trips overseas or even as close as New York and Washington, D.C., might not have to pack their bags after all.

West Tisbury voters fed up with rising taxes sent a message last week at annual town meeting when they reduced their town's share of the Up-Island Regional School budget by $250,000. That message, though, is about to be stamped return-to-sender.

If you came into gym class at the regional high school looking for Jay Schofield, it might take a minute to find him. He's not out in the center of the floor with the other two gym teachers.

Like teams staking out turf on the ballfield, nearly 30 students, coaches, parents and school administrators this week debated the merits and weaknesses of a proposed zero-tolerance policy for high school athletes caught using drugs, alcohol or tobacco.

Teachers who do their math might be smiling this week, knowing that their new salary contract will boost wages by as much as 27 per cent over three years, turning today's $50,000 job into a $63,893 position by the fall of 2003.