Education

Ivanna Eudora Kean’s “Transformative” Class of 2026 Graduates With College, Military and UVI Paths Ahead

Ivanna Eudora Kean High School’s Class of 2026 marked its graduation Wednesday with a ceremony that highlighted the students’ resilience after years shaped by the Covid-19 disruption, personal loss, academic growth and the transition from high school into college, military service and other paths. “Your theme this year is powerful, thriving, dominating, and transcending,” said IEKHS Principal Sally Petty, addressing the “transformative” class. Ms. Petty said this year’s graduating class included 159 seniors. Of that number, 16 percent had chosen careers in the United States Armed Forces, while 46 percent had already committed to attending a college or university. More than 40 graduates are expected to remain close to home as incoming freshmen at the University of the Virgin Islands. One student has already started her path at UVI through the early admission dual enrollment program. Ms. Petty singled out Sharona Steven, whom she described as an “academic accelerator,” for beginning h...