The end of the school year marks a time of celebration and the opening of new chapters in students’ lives. The photo editors at Education Week selected some of the images that captured the bittersweet sentiments of educators and students as the school doors closed and summer shifted into full swing.
Second-grade teacher Shannon Buzzell hugs Kymani White, 8, at the end of the last day of the school year at Laurel Elementary School in Bloomfield Conn. Buzzell originally wanted to become a nurse when she was in college, but decided that becoming a teacher would provide more opportunity for her to help children thrive. Buzzell. a 13-year veteran educator, is the district’s current teacher of year. —Cloe Poisson/Hartford Courant via AP
Para-educators Kim Hansen and Kathy Gregory and other faculty line the sidewalk in front of View Ridge Elementary School in Bremerton, Wash., to wave goodbye to students leaving on the last day of school on June 20. —Larry Steagall/Kitsap Sun via AP
Dunellen High School senior Destiny Lightfoot briefly stands supported by crutches during graduation ceremonies June 21, in Dunellen, N.J. Both Lightfoot and her friend Jessica Williams were injured in Times Square when Richard Rojas drove through a crowd of pedestrians in May. Lightfoot was able to attend the graduation in a wheelchair and crutches, while Williams, who suffered more serious injuries, could not attend the ceremony. —Julie Jacobson/AP
Flint Southwestern graduate Jaela Young, 17, reacts as her friend Nicole Bonner, right, jokes with her. More than 235 graduates from Flint Community Schools attend the annual commencement ceremony on June 6, at Dort Federal Event Center in Flint, Mich. “I’m leaving high school with a diploma, and a lot of people think kids in Flint can’t graduate or live normal lives because of negative stereotypes that surround our city. People are sleeping on the Class of 2017,” said Young, who will attend Michigan State University to focus on studies in psychology.
“They think the water is holding us down. It’s not and we won’t let it. I’m still living, and this is just one more obstacle I’m leaping over.” —Jake May/The Flint Journal-MLive.com via AP
Army reservist Harland Fletcher walks on stage to receive his high school diploma during a private graduation ceremony on June 12, in Brentwood, Calif. The Liberty High School principal held the ceremony as an apology for not allowing Fletcher to wear his military uniform during his graduation the previous week. —Linda Wang/AP
Friends Annalee Allen, left, and Minnie Adler, both 3, share a hug while waiting for Adler’s two older sisters to dismiss from Larchmont Elementary School, in Norfolk, Va. June 15 was the final day of school for the last group of students who will use the 75-year-old building. The school will be demolished. —Vicki Cronis-Nohe/The Virginian-Pilot via AP
Graduating seniors celebrate their achievement on June 6 at Granite Hills High School commencement exercises in El Cajon, Calif. —Chieko Hara/The Porterville Recorder via AP