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Mountain Oaks students look on as a classmate speaks during Friday’s commencement ceremony.
Amber Pappé/Calaveras Enterprise
On Friday evening, 62 students graduated from Mountain Oaks School in San Andreas during a lengthy ceremony that recognized each student’s academic achievements and encouraged all teachers and students to speak.
Mountain Oaks, a non-classroom based public charter school, does not have a valedictorian or salutatorian. According to school administrator Bill Redford, each year “Mountain Oaks mentor teachers present each graduate to the audience and provide a short speech about the student, what makes them special and what they will be doing after graduation. Every student is also provided the opportunity to share a short speech of their own when being presented.”
He added, “While not every senior spoke Friday, the vast majority did, many showing gratitude to their teachers and families.”
Retiring teacher Monika Riedel was the keynote speaker. Riedel joined Mountain Oaks as a teacher in 1999 and had two graduates whom she has served as Mentor Teacher since elementary school.
“One of the unique things about Mountain Oaks is that many mentor teachers follow students throughout the grade levels, up until graduation. Students may have ‘other’ classes, teachers, go to Columbia, etc. but your mentor teacher stays the same,” Redford said.
Of the Class of 2022, three graduates spent their entire K-12 academic career at Mountain Oaks, including Trillium Wright, who will be attending the University of California, Berkeley, this fall.
“Nearly 50% of Mountain Oaks Seniors received some form of scholarship to pursue their post-secondary education,” Redford said, “ranging from several hundred dollars to several thousand dollars.”
Dakota is a Bret Harte High School alumna and attended Davidson College, where she earned a bachelor's degree in Arab studies. After spending time studying in the Middle East and Europe, she is happy to be home, writing about the community she loves.
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