Public board graduations go video-only
Parents voice frustration as Class of 2020 ceremony moved online due to COVID-19
Students who finished Grade 12 at Ottawa English public schools last June will finally get their graduation ceremonies, five months late and on video.
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board had hoped to hold commencement ceremonies in October, but the city is still in the grip of the second wave of COVID-19 and large indoor gatherings are banned.
Graduates will be given a private website link to watch pre-recorded ceremonies for their schools on Dec. 10.
“Despite our hopes to offer in-person commencement ceremonies this fall, it is clear that this will not be possible due to the continued COVID-19 risk in Ottawa-Carleton and the health and safety guidelines still in place,” the board announced this week.
Some parents and students are upset that commencement will be a video.
“I am sick to my stomach about it,” said parent Gemma Nicholson. She is mother to daughter Bailea and guardian to Carter Wells, who both have graduated from Merivale High School. “My kid worked hard. She busted through with a learning disability and worked hard to get where she is.”
A Facebook page called Grad 2020 Ottawa Parents includes comments from parents sharing information and frustration.
“As a parent I am beyond upset ...,” one mother posted. Last spring graduating students were allowed into schools to clean out their lockers, pick up yearbooks and graduation caps, she added.
“Don't let the door hit you in the A-S on your way out,” she posted.
“By the way good luck on your future endeavours! Swear, swear, swear, colourful swear. As I sat in my car and cried for them all.”
A teacher posted that, as the
mother of a grad herself, she understood the frustration.
“The (Ottawa-Carleton District School Board) has been kinda busy keeping students and staff safe from COVID and like it or not that is the priority ... I am grateful for what my school has been doing to keep us safe and stop the spread of COVID.”
The pre-recorded video ceremonies will include messages for graduates, valedictorian speeches and a section that will “profile each student and highlight their academic achievements.”
More details are to be released. Nicholson calls it a “half-assed put-together, last-minute” plan that was announced after parents pressured the board.
Bailea, 18, said she probably wouldn't watch the video. “It kind of defeats the purpose of the whole graduation, but it's something, I guess. It is upsetting because everybody worked hard to graduate, and it feels like we didn't really graduate, but there it is.”
The outfit Bailea bought for prom last spring — “a long, pouffy dress with a pink shimmering pattern, a V-neck and an open back” — is in her closet, unworn.
Patrick Pearson, who graduated from Nepean High School, said he appreciated the board trying to give students “a little bit more of a high school experience.” But the graduation ceremony is not a pressing issue in the midst of a pandemic, he said. “I think it's kind of insignificant to be talking about stuff like that now. Not having a graduation ceremony is not equivalent to having a family member with COVID, right?”
Fiona Haugen, another Nepean grad, said her class had a virtual grad celebration on Zoom last June, organized by parents. “We kind of already did the online grad thing.”
Grace Ingham, 18, who graduated from Sir Wilfrid Laurier Secondary School, said she was disappointed and angry that the board did not organize something earlier in the fall. “I feel like (the school board) could have done more.”
Last spring she was given her graduation cap, Ingham said. “It's kind of funny. I have a cap, but not a graduation.”
She's not sure if she will have time to watch the video grad on Dec. 10, as that's during her exam period at the University of Ottawa. Students can also view the video later.
Ingram said she would prefer the board wait until it could hold in-person ceremonies.
Principals at the Ottawa Catholic School Board came up with the idea for the individualized grad ceremonies and plans were discussed with Ottawa Public Health.
Schools officials decorated their high school auditoriums and gave each grad a time slot to enter the school, march in cap and gown to receive a diploma and have family members photograph them.
The ceremony was a “touching and moving experience” for the graduating class of 2020, Sean Power, the principal of Immaculata High School, said in a presentation to trustees. “We had parents of graduates who were crying throughout the process.”