Avon Grove Charter School moved its senior class off campus to Lincoln University’s International Cultural Center to mark commencement on June 4.

The school is short on facilities large enough to handle the families and cars of all 100 graduates so, in what has become tradition, they celebrate in the elegant environment a few miles away.

Prior to the ceremony, the stage featured a video of senior class member portraits that included when they were babies, in middle childhood, and their senior pictures.

Following the procession of the students to their seats, Principal Matthew Messick greeted the class members, saying he admired them for their resilience and strength, especially in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“You played catch-up with your academics and you are stronger because of it,” he said.

He cited the example of the situation in Yellowstone Park in 1995 when the wolves were removed for alleged improvements.

He said with that act, the elks took over and the quality of the park went down. It was not until the wolves came back that the ecology was restored and greatly improved.

Again, with the resilience of the return of the wolves, the park flourished.

He told the class, “Have confidence in your abilities and be kind. Kindness makes strong communities. … I can’t wait to see the many things you will accomplish.”

Staff speaker Mariell Veilleux, who teaches biology, discussed courage. She urged them to resist fear by transferring their thinking to their frontal cortex – their mental reasoning center.

“Understand more and fear less. Choose to act,” she said.

Building on a theme of taking chances, student speaker Dominique Harris said, “If we don’t change, we don’t grow.”

Even if their choices and chances lead to failure, she said, individuals learn from their unexpected outcomes.

Chemical engineer/business owner and charter school parent Jonathan Purifoy praised the charter school faculty for caring deeply for their students.

“They helped raise your children,” he said.

His advice to graduates was to share your talent, avoid toxic people and don’t address difficult things alone.

Also honored in the commencement ceremony was history teacher Megan Caiola, whom the students voted as Teacher of the Year.

The charter school shares a strong theme of environmentalism and agricultural and has, for years, included farm animals onsite. The school recently received an $84 million grant through the Department of Agriculture to build a new educational center.