The Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School has set new graduation requirements for this year after a ballot initiative got rid of the need to pass a statewide standardized test.
At the high school committee meeting Monday, principal Sara Dingledy updated the committee on how this year’s senior class members can prove they are competent enough to receive a diploma, now that passing the state’s MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System) exam is no longer a graduation requirement.
Most of the students will already have passed the exam, which is given in 10th grade and can be retaken in subsequent years, including this month.
Those who haven’t passed the statewide test will have to meet other benchmarks to prove their competence, Ms. Dingledy said: a passing grade in any of several English, literature and humanities courses and passing grades in algebra, geometry and at least one lab-based science courses.
This plan applies only to the class of 2025, she said.
“We’ll look into potential competency determinations more deeply next year and wait for additional state guidance,” Ms. Dingledy told the committee.
A statewide ballot in November that sought to get rid of the MCAS as a graduation requirement passed with backing from the Island towns. Vineyard educators said that the 10th grade test, while useful to gauge how students are doing, puts a lot of pressure on students and teachers.
After the vote, schools have been tasked with setting their own competency requirements for graduation.
While the MCAS is no longer a factor in graduation, Ms. Dinledy said, the test is still required for all 10th graders.
Among other business at Monday’s high school committee meeting, the committee heard from Martha’s Vineyard Sharks general manager Russ Curran about plans to refurbish the baseball field following this summer’s season.
The field at the high school was installed in 2006 and needs more than its usual annual maintenance after two decades of wear, with exposed sprinkler heads posing a tripping and injury hazard, Mr. Curran said.
“A renovation to the field … would be stripping all the sod or grass right off the field [and] relaying the whole playing surface,” he said.
The estimated $500,000 project would begin this November with the ball park’s infield and continue to the outfield after the 2026 season.
Edgartown has already committed $100,000 and he will be asking other towns for Community Preservation Act funding, Mr. Curran said.
He also plans to install six game cameras that could double as security cameras, allowing live streaming and cable coverage of ball games and discouraging vandalism at the park.
“The Sharks can be on ESPN+ this year if we upgrade our camera system,” Mr. Curran said, adding that he’s already approved the $9,500 expense.
“They want six cameras, they want the follow-the-ball camera,” he said.
The system also will be available for high school games and should help cut down on vandalism, said Mr. Curran, who told the committee he nearly caught two people on motorbikes tearing up the field this week.
“I showed up and they scooted off,” he said, adding that the park is a frequent target for vandals.
The Sharks organization also is willing to install two game cameras for the softball field, Mr. Curran said.
“I know if I put six cameras up for the boys and there’s nothing at the girls’ [field], then the boys won’t be able to have streaming,” he said.
The 1972 U.S. civil rights law known as Title IX [Title Nine] requires equal treatment for boys and girls sports teams in public schools.
