Honoring graduates
Schools exploring ways to recognize seniors
This is the time of year on the school calendar when the focus turns to an important life milestone for millions of students in high school and college — graduation. The annual acknowledgment of the completion of years of coursework, complete with the requisite cap-and-gown ceremony, is a tradition long honored across the country.
This year, however, the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to drastically alter the much-deserved recognition and celebration for high school seniors and college graduates. School administrators and leaders locally deserve credit for trying to find creative ways to honor their students in the midst of an unprecedented situation.
Most local high schools have postponed, rather than canceled, graduation ceremonies — as well as proms — as they deal with stay-at-home orders and crowd limitations. Although they hope they might be able to hold such events later in the summer, the reality is that social-distancing requirements will be in place for some time. State Health Department Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine said on April 27 that large-crowd ceremonies are unlikely this summer because of the ongoing coronavirus threat.
So alternate ways of honoring students are under consideration as well.
Holding online ceremonies now, with the intent of in-person gatherings later, is one possibility. The University of Pittsburgh used a virtual commencement recently to award degrees to nearly 8,000 students. The event included prerecorded messages to accompany the livestream event that was seen live by at least 8,000 people and viewed online by an estimated 29,000 people.
Online ceremonies are also under consideration for high schools, but some are looking at other possibilities such as “drive-in” style ceremonies where students and their families would gather in their cars in a designated lot, perhaps even a drivein theater. Schools are also looking for ways to honor graduates in smaller ceremonies where social distancing could be observed.
The important thing is that school officials and staff have not forgotten what graduation means to seniors. Many schools have had yard signs made with the names and photos of graduating seniors on them and planted them in the students’ yards. One school had signs made with senior photos on them and placed them on the lawn in front of the school.
Schools are also considering “senior parades” in their communities where graduates would drive through neighborhoods at designated times so that residents could stand outside and congratulate them as they drive by.
It’s not the traditional ceremony that graduating seniors had been expecting, but they can take comfort in the fact that the community realizes they deserve recognition and school leaders are doing their best to explore ways to accomplish that.