Orlando Sentinel (Sunday)

Central Florida class of 2020 celebratio­ns look different.

Some ceremonies will be traditiona­l, others virtual

- By Leslie Postal

Tavares High School students were to graduate next month in a scene that seemed more drive-in movie than commenceme­nt ceremony, with graduates and their families in their cars, each senior getting out only when it was their turn to walk across the stage set up on a school athletic field.

But late Friday, after Gov. Ron DeSantis announced he was removing all restrictio­ns on “youth activities,” the Lake County school district decided it would host more traditiona­l graduation ceremonies on school football fields in June.

“It’s amazing!” said Shea Dwyer, 17, a Tavares High senior, via text after hearing the announceme­nt. “A more traditiona­l graduation is what every class of 2020 graduate has dreamed of, so it’s great news to hear we will actually get to experience that.”

School districts across the state have been wrestling with how to honor the class of 2020 in the age of the coronvirus pandemic. Among the other events scheduled: virtual ceremonies, football field graduation­s and car parades.

Most school districts canceled their traditiona­l May graduation ceremonies as campuses, and much of the state, shut down to stop the spread of the coronvirus. Like Tavares, many were to be at UCF and would have been attended by hundreds of students and a thousand or more more guests, violating guidelines about social distancing and avoiding large gatherings. UCF is also essentiall­y shuttered.

All districts then devised new plans. No other local district announced changes Friday based on DeSantis’ announceme­nt,

which focused summer camps sports.

The Osceola County school district, while it canceled May graduation­s, hopes to have traditiona­l ceremonies in July. Many are scheduled for Osceola Heritage Park, which includes two large arenas.

The Orange County School district is hosting virtual graduation ceremonies in early June and says it will host in-person ceremonies on high school football fields, if health conditions allow, in July.

The Seminole County school district is planning football field ceremonies, along with a senior dance to make-up for canceled proms, in either June or July, depending on when health officials advise. The district will likely make the call within a week whether the June ceremonies are a go.

To mostly on and youth compensate traditiona­l for canceled ceremonies, schools and communitie­s also have tried other ways to honor soon-to-be graduates. Seminole high schools lit up their stadiums one night in April, some Lake schools turned capand-gown pick-ups into parking lot celebratio­ns, and Orlando will light up the Lake Eola fountain five days next month in colors of the five public high schools in the city limits.

Apopka planned car parades to celebrate Apopka and Wekiva high school seniors.

The parades, at the 300-acre Northwest Recreation Complex, were to be staged so parents parked, then then remained in their vehicles while graduates in separate cars drove by and a radio station announced seniors’ names, said Mayor Bryan Nelson.

“We’re keeping our social distancing in place, in check, yet we’re able to do something special for the kids,” he said.

All the efforts are nice but don’t add up to the missing “normal graduation experience,” said Jordan Jenkins, 18, a senior at Apopka High in west Orange.

“It’s really not the same,” he said. “I appreciate the attempts to remedy for that, but it’s just not.”

Still Jenkins, who will attend Yale University in the fall, will watch his high school’s virtual graduation featuring video clips each senior shot at home. He’ll likely take part in the Apopka car parade, and he’ll hope Orange will hold football-field ceremonies later this summer.

Otherwise, the end of senior year will seem “abrupt and unresolved.”

Whatever happens, he will take away something positive from the upended year. The nation’s health crisis has shown the mettle of the class of 2020, he said. Students stayed home as requested and carried on despite an abrupt switch to online classes and the loss of so many senior celebratio­ns.

“It does make me very proud of my class,” Jenkins said, “and I’m very proud to be graduating with these people.”

School administra­tors said that as they debated how to host graduation­s, the clear message from most students and parents was that they wanted some type of in-person celebratio­n.

In Lake, administra­tors initially decided that could be accomplish­ed if families were in their cars but each senior still got a chance to walk across a stage. There were to be no handshakes, no live speeches and no group hugs or photos when it was done, however. The “safety protocols” for the football field events are still in the works.

Seminole Superinten­dent Walt Griffin said he heard the same message when he held online meetings with his high schools’ senior class presidents. “They really wanted a faceto-face graduation,” he said.

In Orange, the superinten­dent has called in-person ceremonies “unlikely” but said they will be held if possible. In the meantime, each high school is doing a virtual ceremony, as are Seminole schools.

All the announceme­nts met with mixed reactions, from praise for creative solutions to criticism for not allowing traditiona­l ceremonies to proceed. Those views were evident on Facebook last week when the Lake district announced its drive-in plans.

“Treating graduation like a drive-in movie is unacceptab­le. The graduation should be held as it usually is and streamed live for anyone that doesn’t feel comfortabl­e being there in person,” wrote one person.

“So glad the kids are able to graduate!!! What a wonderful answer to a difficult situation!!! Well done Lake County !!!! ” read another.

Several students said the virtual ceremony was the least appealing of the new options.

“It doesn’t really feel like that rite of passage,” said Uma Menon 16, one of Winter Park High School’s valedictor­ians. “We’re just kind of watching a movie. It’s not like we’re actively participat­ing in it.”

Uma, who will attend Princeton University in the fall, recorded her valedictor­ian speech for the virtual ceremony in a nearly empty auditorium while dressed in her cap and gown. The experience, she said, “was definitely weird.”

She understand­s the “safety and health” reasons why graduation as planned cannot happen this month. But she still hopes for an in-person event in the future. “Just that opportunit­y to be with all of my classmates and all of my teachers one last time.”

Shea, the Tavares student, said the loss of so many senior traditions, from prom to senior week to large-scale graduation­s, have in an odd way tied her class together — and could serve as a common bond when they head to college in the fall.

“This is happening to everybody across the country who is a senior,” said Shea, who will be heading to Florida Gulf Coast University. “It’s something that no other senior in the history of ever has had to experience.”

 ?? COURTESY PHOTOS ?? Shea Dwyer, left, a senior at Tavares High School, found out she will be getting a more traditiona­l graduation. Uma Menon, a senior at Winter Park High School, is still wishing for one.
COURTESY PHOTOS Shea Dwyer, left, a senior at Tavares High School, found out she will be getting a more traditiona­l graduation. Uma Menon, a senior at Winter Park High School, is still wishing for one.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States