Rufus Shorter, superintendent of schools from 1976 to 1979; Robert Tankard, principal from 1992 to 2001; and Helen Vanderhoop Manning Murray, a teacher and member of the Wampanoag Tribe from 1958 to 1984, were African American educators on Martha's Vineyard who forged a path for others to follow. Rufus Shorter said, “Our responsibility, as educators, is to respect and develop what is intrinsic in our children so that they will learn to respect each other, and for this, one earns the appreciation of all.”