Even though the curriculum is not traditional, tradition is very important at the Newark Center for Creative Learning. Every June, the undergraduates design and make the caps for the graduates. The typical style resembles a chef’s hat adorned with photos, messages, and a variety of decorative features and materials – all topped with a mortar board. “During the ceremony, we honor the graduates with gag awards,” said public relations chair Michelle Brymer. “Then we have a gag song written by the staff, and we give a book to each student that we hope hits the mark.”

Some gag awards include the Well-Dressed Traveling Con Artist Award, the Stubborn As A Mule Award, and the What? Duh Award. Returning alumni who earned such honors also attend each year’s ceremony. “These are some recent graduates,” said Brymer, pointing to teens sitting against the back wall of the tiny gymnasium in the school on Phillips Avenue in Newark. “But we have adults that come back years after they graduated.”

Parent Bill Robinson set up his camera well in advance. “My son is graduating this year and my daughter graduated a few years ago,” he said. “I hated this school at first because it is not traditional, but when I saw how well she did and how she learned, I was convinced.”

Robinson said his daughter now attends Cab Calloway School of the Performing Arts in Wilmington. “She’s on the honor roll,” he said. “This school really prepares students to go anywhere.”

The annual commencement concludes with another tradition. “We sing ‘Those Were The Days,’ everybody cries and then we have cake,” said Brymer.