Is graduation the same without hugs and crowds?
Wisconsin schools trying to replicate excitement by staging virtual or drive-in ceremonies
Like every class before them, the high school seniors of 2020 surely wanted a graduation that was memorable.
They are getting their wish — but possibly not in a way anyone could have imagined when this semester started, much less when they first walked into a classroom as children.
With schools closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, districts are struggling with how to creatively balance safety and recognition.
One thing is certain: The graduations everyone expected, with crowds of people packed in gymnasiums and countless hugs and handshakes, are exactly the kind of events the state’s social distancing requirements were put in place to avoid.
Some plans are still in the works, but as graduation gets closer, districts are considering a wide range of
options, like virtual graduations, car parades or delaying ceremonies with the hope of still having something in person — even though state health officials say that’s unlikely to be advisable anytime this summer.
The Sheboygan Area School District plans to hold an in-person graduation ceremony on one of four dates starting with June 7 and ending Aug. 15, and will notify families two weeks before each date to let them know if it’s on.
But no matter what, Sheboygan South High senior Taylor Thao said, “It’s definitely not the same.”
Thao said she’s been to the graduation the last several years for family and friends and was looking forward to the atmosphere, including a large audience.
She was also eager to take part in a school tradition where seniors walk through their elementary and middle schools while teachers stand in the hallways to say goodbye — something the district said won’t be able to happen under a state mandate that has closed school grounds until the end of June.
“I worked for that, and I just wanted that to happen,” Thao said.
Now, she anticipates even if her graduation is able to be held in person, it won’t be the same with social distancing precautions.
Recent recommendations from the state Department of Health Services advised schools to “cancel or postpone all in-person ceremonies for spring and summer graduations,” but some area high schools are planning on celebrating at Miller Park in July. Franklin, Oak Creek and Homestead High Schools all have graduations planned for the stadium the weekend of the 17th.
The DHS recommendations even advise against more socially distant options, including ones where families would be in separate cars, noting they could still put people at risk.
Other Wisconsin school districts are going the virtual route.
Kimberly High School’s Kaileigh Smith took photos in her cap and gown with her mom, Jodie, earlier this month to be included in a virtual ceremony when her name is read. She received her cap and gown in the mail.
“I think our whole school is pretty sad about it,” Kaileigh said.
Jodie Smith said she’s thankful the district didn’t change the date of graduation, June 3, as it’s a date they’ve all been looking forward to, and she’s proud of the school district for how it’s honoring seniors under the circumstances.
But it felt strange to go to the deserted school, where Kaileigh missed out on her last track season and senior activities, to get more photos.
“It’s awkward to be here,” Jodie said as they sat in their car in the parking lot.
Neenah School District students picked up their caps and gowns ahead of time in the school parking lot, where they’ll have their photo taken. That photo, along with prerecorded speeches, will be included in a video that will be posted to YouTube at 7 p.m. on May 27.
The virtual ceremony will include musical performances, and graduates will still have their names called as their photo is shown.
While Neenah is putting together its virtual graduation in-house, Indianapolis-based company Herff Jones is putting together similar virtual graduations for schools all over the country.
“We have been contacted by some of the smallest schools in the country to some of the largest districts,” including several Wisconsin high schools, said Andrew Checketts, vice president of strategy and business transformation, in an email.
The virtual ceremonies are customized for each school and include messages from faculty and staff, keynote speakers, and a procession that shows each student individually.
Pricing ranges from $9 to $12 per student depending on the size of the school and or district.
‘They can’t really do anything about it.’
While many seniors are disappointed in the cancellations and postponements of many events and activities they’d normally be attending in their final months as high schoolers, parents are also disappointed in not being able to see their kids reach those milestones in the way they thought they would.
“It never occurred to you that it wouldn’t happen,” Jill Woodke said of a normal graduation ceremony for her daughter Mackenzie, at Appleton North High School.
Woodke said the district told parents it plans on a virtual ceremony next week with the hope of having something in person in August. If that isn’t possible something could be scheduled around the next homecoming.
Although Woodke said having a virtual ceremony could be fun, she worries about families with limited technology to access it. And her daughter would much rather have a ceremony later on that she could attend in person.
Alternatives like going virtual deprive them of some of best aspects of graduation, like taking photos with friends, gathering in a crowd to celebrate and all the hugs and handshakes for a job well done, Woodke said, “It wouldn’t be the same.”
Milwaukee Public Schools, the state’s largest district, initially surveyed students and families to gauge their preferences for in-person or virtual commencement ceremonies but has since decided to move them all online.
It will hold commencement ceremonies — five each day — on June 1 through 5, according to spokesperson Earl Arms.
Schools are in the process of working out exactly what those will look like. But they will include a video featuring senior pictures and local luminaries holding placards congratulating those who don’t have photos.
The ceremony at Milwaukee’s Ronald Reagan College Preparatory High School will include a virtual and moving rendition of “The Parting Glass,” a Scottish tune Reagan’s choir students and alumni sing each year at the spring concert. This year’s features students, alumni and staff singing in their homes, their voices pulled together in 20-plus hours of editing.
“Nothing can replace the experience of singing together in the same room for a special occasion like graduation,” said Erica Breitbarth, who directs the choir and chairs Reagan’s music department. “But we wanted to bring our students and alumni together virtually to raise their voices to the Class of 2020.”
The Racine Unified School District hoped to hold a virtual ceremony in June and an in-person ceremony in August. Instead, due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases in Racine, the district is going to hold drive-thru ceremonies July 9-11 for all five of its high schools.
They will provide students and their families the opportunity to take a photo, receive their diploma and be celebrated by school staff. The district is also working on a video to be shared after the event. The district said time slots, the number of people allowed and protocols will be communicated by each school’s principal to parents. The district is also working closely with local health departments as they finalize details.
School districts like Pulaski Community School District near Green Bay have considered more creative options: a car parade where parents would pick up students after a student-only ceremony and then drive around the community, or a drive-in theater ceremony where a video would be shown and then diplomas would be handed out as students leave in their vehicles.
DHS offered a drive-through option where families drive up to the school wearing masks, only the student gets out to receive a diploma, the student’s name is called over a loud speaker, and a photo is taken of the student at least 6 feet from school staff.
Other graduation scenarios suggested by DHS include: highlighting a different senior every day on social media or having school leaders visit each graduate’s home, staying outside and socially distant while taking photos of each graduate in their cap and gown holding their diploma. That might take several days, DHS said, if the class was large enough.
Thao said many of her friends in the Sheboygan district are disappointed with how their senior year is wrapping up because of the coronavirus. She’d be able to make it to an in-person ceremony held after August but many of them might not.
But Thao said she knows that while the district has some control of what graduation looks like, to some extent, “they can’t really do anything about it.”