Baldwin hopes graduation will return to War Memorial
Mayor, principal considering two guests per student
Managing Editor
Baldwin High School is working on a plan to hold graduation at War Memorial Stadium with a limited number of guests spaced out across the stands, Principal Keoni Wilhelm said Thursday.
“We’re going to be submitting our revision plan, but our hope is to get our students graduated in the War Memorial Stadium and possibly allow two guests, maybe the mom and the dad in one household, to be in attendance,” Wilhelm said. “We’re working with Mayor Victorino as well as the city and Parks and Recreation personnel in order to make this happen.”
Families had expressed concerns on social media and in calls to the Mayor’s Office after receiving a survey from the school this week asking for input on three possible graduation options — a drive-thru diploma presentation and parade for graduates and family on campus, a graduates-only ceremony on campus with faculty in person and parents tuning in via livestream or a graduatesonly ceremony at War Memorial Stadium with faculty and parents tuning in online.
“Although state DOE officials have granted approval for in-person public school graduations statewide with two guests per graduate in attendance, here in Maui County we are being limited to a graduates-only ceremony if we hold our ceremony at the War Memorial Stadium — no guests and limited faculty allowed,” the survey said.
However, Wilhelm called this “a miscommunication,” and after a meeting with school, county and state officials on Thursday morning, “we were able to come to an agreement with the usage of War Memorial for our graduates” with the possibility of having two guests from the same household.
Wilhelm said the school is still finalizing the specifics, such as how the rules might accommodate students with parents in different households. Seating and health protocols are also in the works.
“I know our grad committee advisers have already taken steps to map out the stadium, doing the measurements and the 6-foot distancing, and because we have a smaller class size than other schools, we were able to manage that,” Wilhelm said.
In February, the state Department of Education announced that it would allow limited, in-person graduation ceremonies with strict guidelines, including holding the ceremony outdoors, allowing graduates to bring a maximum of two members from their household, limiting music to solo performances and prerecorded pieces and requiring social distancing and masks.
Baldwin seniors responding to the survey “overwhelmingly” wanted to hold graduation at War Memorial Stadium as they traditionally have, Wilhelm said. Last year, public schools primarily held ceremonies online or at a distance because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Baldwin put on a parade and aired a prerecorded virtual commencement, while several other high schools held drive-thru diploma pickups and livestreamed their ceremonies.
“I think it’s been a little challenging, but yet at the same time, it provides us opportunities to look outside the box, to think of ways to adjust and to create different opportunities for our students, to revisit how we might celebrate and share our achievements,” Wilhelm said.
During a news conference on Thursday, Mayor Michael Victorino said that the issue over the graduates-only ceremony “has all been corrected.”
“We met, we’ve taken care of the problem, it was erroneous,” he said.
He said graduation plans will be finalized in April, but “we’re going to allow two members of the household to be present at graduation.”
“I haven’t worked out all of the final details, and please pray, let’s work hard to keep our numbers down,” he said.
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