Danbury explores three options for in-person graduation
DANBURY — Seniors at Danbury High School will pick between a smaller-sized commencement ceremony or a drive-thru graduation.
Danbury High School plans to survey students with three options for an outdoor, in-person graduation for the Class of 2021.
“We really want to make this celebration, graduation an important special event for all of our students,” Meghan Martins, associate high school principal, said at a recent school board meeting. “We also want to make sure it’s a safe event and we’re following CDC recommendations and that we are taking care of our students and our families.”
State coronavirus restrictions limit outdoor graduations to the number that can be accommodated safely with masks and social distancing.
The stadium at the high school can hold 2,850 people, but capacity would go down to a third of that to space people six feet apart. That pretty much just fits the 834student senior class, Martins said.
One option would be to offer a student-only graduation that is livestreamed to family and friends, she said. Students would likely be on the field, with no one in the stands.
The school could also opt to split graduation into three nights, allowing students to bring two guests, she said.
The third choice is a “souped-up” version of the drive-thru graduation held for the Class of 2020, Martins said. Students would pick a time to get their diploma, so they could graduate at the same time as friends, she said. A photo area would be set up in front of the stage like last year.
“Having done that last year we’ve identified some ways we could make some improvements and to make it a little bit more exciting for our students,” Martins said.
The drive-thru graduation would be held over two days. June 10 and 11 are possibilities, with rain dates of June 12 and 14.