Martha's Vineyard Megan Dooley

Chappy Native Pens Kids’ Book, Talks About Growing Up Different

Megan Dooley | Thursday, December 17 2009 - 1:04pm

As a student at the Edgartown School, a counselor once told Chappaquiddick native Stephanie Duckworth-Elliott that she wouldn’t go to college, and implied that Ms. Duckworth-Elliott would not achieve in life. The young girl had a background and home life that already separated her from other kids her age — she was a member of the only Wampanoag family living on Chappy at the time, and raised primarily by her grandfather — and the counselor’s prediction made her feel even more detached from her peers.

Authors

Selectmen Stand By Decision To Allow Dog Training Reprieve

Megan Dooley

The Chilmark selectmen this week stood by their decision to allow the owners of a pointing griffon named Maisy to send the dog off-Island for rigorous training and not be put to sleep. Last month Maisy attacked a Yorkshire terrier that later died as a result of his injuries.

In Concert: Crohan and Mayhew Play Together, Again

Megan Dooley

He is a seasoned pianist with an Island legacy that echoes through the streets of Oak Bluffs, where he spent a 20-year run entertaining guests at David’s Island House. She is a teenage singing prodigy who won the chance to perform with the Boston Pops, a homegrown celebrity just beginning to leave her footprint on the musical world.

School Officials Spare Music Programs After Public Outcry

Megan Dooley

The elementary strings program and education programs of Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary and the Yard dance colony have all been spared the budget axe.

Money for the programs was voted back into the superintendent’s shared services budget for fiscal year 2011 by the All-Island School Committee last Thursday night before a meeting room packed with parents and other supporters of the enrichment programs.

Edgartown Voters Spend Fast at Special

Megan Dooley

Five months into the fiscal year, the town of Edgartown has finally voted to pay its overdue annual assessment to the Martha’s Vineyard Commission.

Costs Take Early Learning Out Of Reach for Vineyard Families

Megan Dooley

The Island Children’s School in West Tisbury was a busy place on Wednesday morning, as two to five-year-olds spread throughout two schoolrooms went about their daily preschool routines.

One group crowded around a colorful picture book on a comfy couch in the corner, while another worked intently, with the help of a teacher, to transform brown paper lunch bags into fish puppets. Snapshot portraits tucked into the pockets of a job chart poster acted as a guide to which students are responsible for the daily weather report, line-leading, or ringing the bell.

Center for Living Holds Annual Meeting

Megan Dooley

The Martha’s Vineyard Center for Living, formerly the Island Council on Aging, mapped out a plan to strengthen its programs — and locate a permanent home for them — at its annual meeting last week.