Machias restoring honor parts to graduation > School Committee decision reverses 27-year-old policy

MACHIAS — A petition circulated by a parent last June has led to a decision by the Machias School Committee to restore honor parts to graduation exercises at Machias Memorial High School for the first time in 27 years.

The change, which passed on March 24, will mark the first time a valedictorian and salutatorian is named at MMHS since an earlier board responded to a dispute between families of two former students in 1965 by voting to drop honor parts from graduation. The dispute involved the school’s choice for valedictorian and the method for selection.

In recent years, MMHS had been the only secondary-level school in Washington County not recognizing and naming honor parts at graduation. The school’s policy has been to list alphabetically the top 10 graduates with the highest four-year academic average.

The student with the highest average received the Fred E. and Emma F. Hovey Scholarship during the graduation ceremony, while the graduate with the second-highest average was awarded the Robert A. Gardner Scholarship.

The change in the more than quarter-century-old policy might not have occurred had it not been for a petition drive begun 10 months ago by Ronald Tower of Marshfield.

Tower, whose daughter, Cathy, graduated from MMHS last June, complained about what he saw as a growing imbalance in how the school recognized its athletes as opposed to honoring students who did well academically. Tower presented signed petitions seeking restoration of honor parts, to the Machias School Committee in June.

The committee made good its promise to study the issue. Several meetings were held in which students, parents and school officials met with school board members to discuss the policy.

MMHS Principal William Prescott presented the school committee on March 10 with a preliminary report on proposed changes to the school’s graduation policy. He returned March 24 with the final version.

According to the newly enacted policy, the student achieving the highest four-year academic average at MMHS will be named valedictorian. The second highest achiever will be named salutatorian. Each will give an address during the graduation ceremony.

In addition, each of the top 10 academic achievers in the graduating class will wear a gold cord. The entire senior class will be involved in planning for the exercise. The new graduation policy, and the entire kindergarten through grade 12 academic assessment system, will be reviewed by the school committee within the next three years.

Gael Romei, Richard Shaw, James Rier Jr. and Pat McCarthy voted in favor of the new graduation policy. Jane HeartCQ voted against it.

The committee appointed Myron Lenfesty baseball coach and accepted the resignation of Michael Worcester as athletic director at MMHS. Worcester, who has served in that capacity for eight years, will leave his post at the the end of school in June.