lucy wightman

HEAD OF THE CLASS – The first four students to attend a charter school in Massachusetts from kindergarten through 12th grade graduated from the South Shore Charter Public School last weekend – Hull’s Nick Sisson, Jimmy Beggan, Nora Jordan and Samantha Wholley. Teacher Ted Hirsch [also from Hull] carried on his tradition of recognizing creativity with a headstand. [Lucy Wightman photo]

 

By Lucy Wightman 12.JUN.08

The first students to complete a full 13 years in a Massachusetts charter school graduated last weekend. The four pioneers live in Hull and are confident about how the South Shore Charter Public School [SSCPS] in Norwell has shaped them. All have been accepted into their top picks for college.

“The school experience really breeds independence and lessens the need to follow or cave in to peer pressure,” said Nick Sisson, one of the graduates. “I think we have learned to care differently than most kids.”

Sisson is considering University of Santa Cruz and the University of Colorado in Boulder to continue his education. He has deposits at both colleges, but remains undecided as to where he will start his studies in environmental engineering or science.

By the beginning of high school, most of the 20 fellow classmates identified as charter school “originals” had left for more traditional educations. Friendships have endured with these same-age peers in spite of noticeable differences in school experiences.

“There was so little conflict here, not so much mean gossip, and a level of maturity in dealing with the social stuff,” she said. “I also appreciated not having to join a team sport since I wanted to pursue figure skating and spend most of my energy doing that outside of school at South Shore Skating Club in Rockland.”

Wholley received scholarship money toward her tuition at Boston University’s School of Fine Arts based on her abilities. She credits her art teacher, Marianne Buckley Curran, also of Hull, with providing the time and care one does not receive in a larger public school.

“When I went for the group interview at BU, I remember the person asked if anyone had taken sculpture. I was the only one who raised their hand,” she said. “People were surprised I was given this option in high school. The art teacher here, Marianne, has added so much to my learning experiences, things like showing our work at the local Starbucks and having us enter art shows.”

The four entered the SSCPS early on, when its campus was still in Hull. They have always been friends and believe the connection for the future is a given. At the time, the kindergarten class was combined with grades one and two and provided a full day, unlike other options, and relationships with older children. The desire for schooling within smaller classes, a place for parental input and experiential learning led their parents to choose a charter school.

“I think we all felt like guinea pigs,” said Jimmy Beggan, “but to us it was the norm. Most of the experiments worked. I remember math being a daily game where every classroom was a different math function. Instead of competing against the clock to see how many equations you could complete, we just couldn’t leave the room until we got it – it was pretty effective.”

Beggan will attend Parsons School of Design to study fashion design, and was recognized for the highest academic achievement at graduation.

In reminiscing about their shared pasts, teacher Ted Hirsch, who has accompanied the students on their full journey, is center stage. In kindergarten, Hirsch rewarded the students for their hard work or met goals by standing on his head.

All agree the school has changed since its move from Hull to Norwell, but Beggan attributes much of this to the MCAS testing. Still, many of the core differences remain. For instance, students are required to have four years of every subject in high school, including math and a language, something other public schools encourage but do not require.

Nora Jordan believes strongly in the unusual opportunities, and that she would be a different person were it not for the charter school’s unique environment.

“I went to Canada in seventh grade, now the sixth- and seventh-graders go to Europe,” she said. “We took so many community-service trips to places like Honduras and Costa Rica. We just got back from France, Italy and Switzerland.”

After interning at WROR radio in Boston as part of her school curriculum, Jordan decided to pursue studies in radio and television broadcasting while attending Emerson College in the fall. Her career path was solidified while fulfilling one of the SSCPS’s graduation requirements. “Since our school is so small and still developing, there are no Advanced Placement classes,” she said. “Instead, we are required to take college courses on the actual campus.”

The state’s first charter schools were created in 1995 when the first 15 schools were approved by the Massachusetts Department of Education.

There are now 61 operating charter schools in the state, and the SSCPS is one of eight offering kindergarten through grade 12. All charter schools are bound to follow state educational standards, administer the same state tests, and abide by almost all the same state and federal laws and regulations as other public schools.

In the same pioneering spirit as the four graduates, the SSCPS itself has forged new ground. This year, the school made Advanced Driver Training part of its curriculum and mandatory for any student driving a car onto school property.

And amidst many firsts, Hirsch still rewards students’ creative strength with a headstand.