The Desert Sun School

Elliott-Pope grads get diplomas
By Jennie Clayton
The Press-Enterprise

Sunday, June 3, 1990

Fellow graduates applaud Eve Forward at the Elliott-Pope graduation

Thirty-eight high school seniors received diplomas yesterday in graduation ceremonies held on the grassy, tree-covered campus of Elliott-Pope Preparatory School in Idyllwild.

About 300 parents and friends of classmates were on hand as scholarships and awards were presented and the valedictorian and salutatorian were announced.

In her address, valedictorian Eve Forward said she not only was leaving school behind her, but she and her family also are moving from Idyllwild. Comparing packing to move with leaving school, she said she had no need to keep her old papers because the memories of home and school are all part of her and she can't throw the memories away.

Forward ended her valedictorian address by telling seniors they could succeed and referring to them as the "class of the new decade, the seniors of 1990."

After the ceremony, Forward, the daughter of Robert and Martha Forward, said of the prep school, "It's one of the best places I can think of to get an education. You have to work, but the resources are here and the instructors are willing to help you."

The private school, which has been in Idyllwild since 1946, costs about $7,600 a year for the 30 day students and about twice that for the 130 who board at the school.

Awards presented at the commencement exercise were kept a secret from the recipients until yesterday.

As student body president Joshua Ross prepared to present the Edith Elliott Award, he told spectators the award was chosen by other students and was given to the most respected senior. When he opened the envelope containing the name of the recipient, he was unable to speak for a few seconds.

"It's me," he finally said.

Awards and their recipients were the Francine Shirvani Foreign Student Award presented to Anton Aditya Subowo of Indonesia; the Blanche and Edker Pope Award to Jennifer Ann Bates; and the Headmaster's Award to Cole James Erb.

Other awards were the Clifton Russell Award to seventh-grader Aaron Denney; a Cynthia Parsons Award to eighth-grader Tara Kintz; another Cynthia Parsons Award to ninth-grader Jeannette Jarrett; the Meredith Russell Award to 10th-grader David Lee; the B. Rae Sharp Award to 11th-grader Lisa Maejima; and the Edmund P. Ducommun Lamp of Learning to Forward.

The commencement address was by Damon Bradley, headmaster, who is also leaving the school after 11 years.

Graduation exercises for Elliott-Pope and the Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts were held in separate programs yesterday for the first time in four years, as last July the two schools ended a five-year agreement to share academic and arts programs.

Copyright: The Press-Enterprise

Editor's Note: The 1990 graduation ceremony was the last one held on the Desert Sun School / Elliott-Pope campus before it closed in December of 1990. However, some members of the Class of '91 were permitted to finish the year in home schooling and received diplomas in the Spring of 1991.