Class of 2023 graduating after challenging four years

It’s graduation season, and students and families are celebrating as the Class of 2023 wraps up a wild four years.

These students entered high school in the fall of 2019 with no idea that a pandemic would shut down schools abruptly in March 2020. They finished their freshman year — and many spent all or most of their sophomore year — working remotely. By sometime in their junior year, there were fewer restrictions, and their senior year finally allowed a return to mostly normal, although some struggled to make up for lost education. Names and photos of all students, if provided by the schools, will be published in a special section of Tehachapi News on Wednesday, June 8. Some graduations have already taken place, and others are coming up.

TEHACHAPI UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

Tehachapi Unified School

District is celebrating the success of all our Tehachapi High, Monroe High and Adult School graduates, Superintendent Stacey Larson-Everson said.

“We are very proud of each and every one of them for achieving the milestone of high school graduation,” she noted.

This year, Monroe High School returned to holding graduation ceremonies, separate from Tehachapi High School. A total of 19 students graduated at the end of the first semester and were recognized during a meeting of the Tehachapi Unified School Board in January.

The spring graduation ceremony for Monroe grads will be held at 5 p.m. on June 6 in the gym at THS. The event will include a 30-year service flag ceremony for Sheri Kabonic, the Monroe teacher.

Names of THS valedictorians and salutatorians — and the number of Monroe and Adult School graduates — were not available by the deadline for this article. THS will hold its commencement ceremony at 6 p.m. on Thursday, June 8, at Coy Burnett Stadium. A total of 252 students are slated to graduate.

MOJAVE RIVER ACADEMY

Teacher Kim Peterson at Mojave River Academy said 31 students will graduate from the Tehachapi campus on Friday, June 2.

HERITAGE OAK SCHOOL

Four students graduated from Heritage Oak School on Friday, May 26, according to Lori Gohr, administrative assistant at the school. Gabrielle N. Ferguson was valedictorian and Sharon M. Gentry was salutatorian.

VALLEY OAKS CHARTER SCHOOL

Fourteen students will graduate from Valley Oaks Charter School in Tehachapi at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 31, at the Tehachapi campus, 20419 Brian Way. Co-valedictorians are Nicholas Aldava and Kiera Judkins Irvine and salutatorian is Isabelle Dohnke.