NPS Graduates 83 Students Through Summer Programs
NPS Graduates 83 Students Through Summer Programs
NPS Communications
More than 80 students graduated with diplomas from Brien McMahon High School and Norwalk High School at the Norwalk Public Schools Summer Graduation ceremony on Wednesday, July 31 at Brien McMahon High School.
Among the 83 graduates were students who participated this summer in the district’s Twilight and Virtual Academies, the Multilingual Learning (MLL) Accelerated Summer Program, and the Credit Recovery Program.
“The Summer Academy, The Twilight Program – these initiatives are the bridge to ensuring that we best equip ALL of our scholars with an opportunity to be their best selves, to achieve great things and to strive for their goals. Today, I have another opportunity to send off our future leaders, and it is programs like this that help develop them,” said Dr. Alexandra Estrella, Superintendent of Norwalk Public Schools.
Graduates were surrounded by their friends and family and lauded for their accomplishments by the superintendent, Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling, Norwalk Board of Education Member Mary Ellen Flaherty-Ludwig, Norwalk High School Principal Dr. Lynne Moore and Assistant Principal Dr. Dan Sullivan, and Brien McMahon High School Principal Barbara Wood and Assistant Principal A.J. Albano.
“One size does not fit all. There may be some exceptions, and your road [here] tonight may be one of them,” said Mary Ellen Flaherty-Ludwig, a member of the Norwalk Board of Education, who recounted how Norwalk Public Schools, under the leadership of Dr. Estrella, created alternative pathways to graduation.
The graduates also heard from their peers, inspiring one another for the future ahead.
- Yevin Benitez - Norwalk High School
- Yainifer Pantoja Vivas - Brien McMahon High School
- Elsa Tecu Chajaj - BMHS
- Glendy Grave Ismalej - BMHS
- Marvin Lopez - NHS
The superintendent wove through the unique stories of the graduates, which ranged from students whose responsibilities to their families interfered with completing the traditional road to high school graduation and students who came to the United States alone, seeking a better life.
Despite the struggles that they faced, they navigated their way to the end with their perseverance, heart, strength, courage and grit.