Chantal McHayle earned her first varsity letter after four years on the team — the math team, not the basketball team.
Principal Kermit Carolina — at left in photo, with Chantal, the valedictorian — bestowed letters on the top 10 students in the James Hillhouse High School Class of 2011 at a commencement ceremony Thursday at the school’s field house.
Hillhouse was one of nine high schools that graduated a total of 1,080 students Thursday.
Carolina, who’s wrapping up his first year as principal, marked the occasion with a new tradition: Using team jackets and varsity letters to honor not just the kids who do well in sports, but those who excel in class.
Chantal, an aspiring obstetrician, played tennis at Hillhouse but never earned a varsity letter in any sport. She was too busy earning top letters in AP Calculus, government and politics, and her favorite subject, biology.
Onstage Thursday the principal unzipped a large Hillhouse jacket and helped Chantal pull it on.
“The game has officially changed today,” announced Carolina, who coached the Hillhouse boys basketball team for six years.
“We’ve always found a way to recognize our athletic achievements,” Carolina said. “Today we want to honor our top 10 students — the academic achievers that all our students should be.”
Chantal later said the jacket symbolizes “success” and the idea that “my hard work that has paid off.” She’s heading to Fairfield University in the fall.
The jackets are one of the ways Carolina has sought to set a new tone in the school, to help one of New Haven’s “failing schools” live up to its historic nickname, The Academics.
“We want our students to embrace academic competition with just as much vigor and tenacity as they do athletic competition,” Carolina said after the ceremony.
“It’s cool and it’s popular to be a high academic achiever,” he declared.
Carolina said he’s trying to send students the message that “there’s a high academic expectation for each of them.”
Chantal said she’s seen some higher expectations played out in the hallways this year. “Guys pull up their pants,” she noted, “and there are deans in the hallways so we can’t really skip class.”
Fellow graduate Melvin Osvaldo Rivera agreed. He said the new block schedule, which cuts down on hallway passing time, makes it easier to focus on academics. And adults don’t let poor behavior slide: If you “slack off,” Rivera said, “someone will put you back in line.”
Rivera said he’s headed to Gateway Community College with aspirations of becoming a massage therapist.
Of the 172 graduates from Hillhouse this year, 94 percent have reported they plan to enroll in higher education in the fall.
Hillhouse’s graduating class included 97 girls and 75 boys — a disparity Carolina has said he’s not happy about. He gave each of the male graduates a strong hug Thursday. And he issued a warning: “To all of my young men — look at me. The streets cannot have you.”
The bleachers at the Field House filled with adoring fans.
Kevin Gilliams steered his Jet 2 HD power chair onto the center of the track so he could get a clearer shot of his grandson, William Robinson. “Billy!” cheered his wife, Linda.
In a voice that verged on song, Carolina urged his graduates to “spread your beautiful wings and fly high.”
Past Independent stories on Hillhouse High:
• Principal Reads Black Males The Riot Act
• The Next 10 Eugenes Get Their Tickets
• At Hillhouse, “Fountain Of Youth” Keeps Going
• New Deans Start Turning Hillhouse Around
• Hillhouse “Father” Passes
• New Hillhouse Principal Readies 4 “Academies”
• New Hillhouse Principal Promises “Full Court Press”
God bless you Kerm, for all that you do and stand for.