Venue change for graduation

District plans to hold 2021 ceremony at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse

“We are currently looking at holding our graduation ceremony — with a limited audience — at Rocket Mortgage Field House, where the Cavaliers play.” — Superintendent William Porter

Mentor Schools Superintendent William Porter recently released a video to district families announcing plans for the final quarter of the school year, including a venue change for the 2021 graduation ceremony.

In a typical year, Mentor Schools utilizes the Wolstein Center in downtown Cleveland to hold the graduation ceremony, but given that facility will be under use as a public vaccination clinic, the district is moving its event to Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.

“(W)e now have a new plan, keeping the same date,” Porter announced in the video. “We are currently looking at holding our graduation ceremony — with a limited audience — at Rocket Mortgage Field House, where the Cavaliers play.

“The number of attendees will ultimately come from the venue, which will be determined based on what the COVID-related directives and restrictions are from the state and city this coming May.”

Porter told 12th-grade students and their families to stay tuned for updates and details about how the graduation ceremony will pan out.

This will be the second year that the novel coronavirus pandemic has affected the district’s normal graduation plans.

Mentor’s class of 2020 graduation was held over a span of several days in small, private ceremonies for each graduating student in the high school’s Fine Art Center.

In the announcement, Porter also addressed the potential continuation of the fully remote learning option into the 2021-22 school year.

He said that the district sent out a survey to parents and guardians on April 1 to gauge the general interest level in keeping the remote option available, along with initial data on how many students might be leaning toward choosing that modality.

“We continue to provide a high quality education for more than 2,000 students who are learning from home. We know that this is an important option that many families may wish to continue into the future,” Porter said.

He encouraged all families considering the online learning option to fill out the survey so that the district can plan appropriately.