Inland Empire high schools planning for in-person graduation ceremonies
In-person high school graduations featuring heart-stirring “Pomp and Circumstance” music, caps and gowns and other commencement traditions are set to return this spring across the Inland Empire in a big way.
But, to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, schools will limit the number of spectators, district officials said.
And some may divide graduating classes and hold separate ceremonies.
Inland Empire high schools, after holding mostly drive-thru and virtual events for the Class of 2020, have been surveying families to learn what type of graduation they prefer. Many have indicated they want to see their graduates get diplomas with classmates the way seniors routinely did before COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, marched across the globe.
“Our seniors told us they would like a traditional in-person event, so that is what we are doing,” said Laura Boss, a spokesperson for Temecula Unified School District, adding that 2020 celebrations “didn’t have the same feel.”
Educators say they will follow guidelines to keep students, families and friends safe as the pandemic, while coming under control, continues to pose a threat. That means limiting people on football fields and in stands to 33% of capacity, the
guideline for live events in the orange tier of coronavirus restrictions, said Tim Walker, Riverside Unified School District’s assistant superintendent.
“There are a large number of people who still have health and safety concerns,” Walker said.
Class of 2020, too?
Meanwhile, there is talk even of holding traditional celebrations for 2020 graduates who missed out last year.
Ginger Ontiveros, spokeswoman for San Bernardino City Unified School District, said San Bernardino schools will contact 2020 graduates over the next couple of weeks to assess interest in year-later, in-person ceremonies.
“This has been so tough for all of the kids,” Ontiveros said of the drive-thru and virtual ceremonies those graduates had to settle for.
“We’ve always said that when we were able to have an in-person graduation for the class of 2020 we would do so,” she said.
And Ontiveros said San Bernardino City Unified intends to keep its promise.
Ontiveros said the district likely would schedule ceremonies for 2020 graduates sometime in June, the same month in which class of 2021 commencements will be held.
Details are being worked out for class of 2021 graduations, she said, but the district expects to hold one ceremony each for its six comprehensive or primary high schools and three other schools.
The situation is a little different in the Pomona Unified School District, which has just made a decision on what 2021 ceremonies will look like.
“All of our high school graduations will be in person, as of today,” Pomona Unified spokesman Oliver Unaka said Friday.
Unaka said tentative plans call for two ceremonies each for the district’s two largest high schools, Diamond Ranch and Garey, to ensure gatherings adhere to Los Angeles County public health guidelines.
The district expects to hold one commencement at Pomona High School and one at Ganesha High School because they have smaller classes, he said. One ceremony each also is planned for three academies, an alternative high school and a district charter high school, he said.
Unaka emphasized plans may change, depending on the latest coronavirus case trends and public health guidelines.
“We’re getting additional guidance literally daily as to what we can do,” he said.
Still, Unaka said his district is committed to making celebrations as enjoyable and memorable as possible.
“It’s important to recognize the accomplishments of our students the best can in light of the circumstances,” he said.
In the Moreno Valley Unified School District, two ceremonies are likely for each of its four main high schools.
Superintendent Martinrex Kedziora said Moreno Valley Unified asked 2,600 seniors this past week what kind of ceremony they preferred and, as of Friday, 55% had responded.
Of those who did, Kedziora said, 70% preferred to have in-person graduations, 18% preferred drivethru celebrations and the rest expressed no preference.
Taking survey results into account, he said, the Moreno Valley school board is expected to make a decision Tuesday.
If in-person ceremonies are held, each class will be divided in half for separate ceremonies at Canyon Springs, Moreno Valley, Valley View and Vista del Lago high schools, Kedziora said.
Ticket caps
He said graduates’ families would be limited to four spectator tickets. Ceremonies would take place the week of June 7.
Such limits are expected at many graduations.
Temecula Unified, for example, intends to issue two tickets to families of graduates for ceremonies at its main high schools — Chaparral, Great Oak and Temecula Valley — that will take place on June 4, Boss said. She said there’s a chance the number of tickets will be increased to four.
Whatever the rules, many districts are preparing to bring back the prepandemic graduation tradition, while continuing to offer online options that either started in 2020 or were in place before then.
Redlands Unified School District is planning for both virtual and in-person high school graduations, which will allow members of the class of 2021 to walk across a stage. But no official announcements had been made as of Thursday, spokeswoman MaryRone Shell said.
Superintendent Mauricio Arellano wrote in a mid-March message to families that the district has reserved the Redlands Bowl for in-person ceremonies, if the city opens it to the public.
At Chaffey Joint Union High School District, which serves Ontario, Montclair and Rancho Cucamonga, and portions of Fontana, Upland, Chino and Mount Baldy, details were being worked out.
“What we can say is that we will have in-person, safe, graduations in our stadiums, and we will follow the CDPH guidelines,” said Steve Lambert, communications consultant for the district, in an email.
In-person graduations are anticipated for Riverside schools, too.
Riverside Unified’s Walker said a number of options, including holding two ceremonies at high schools, are being explored to make sure the 33% capacity protocol for live events is followed.
Evita Tapia-Gonzalez, Corona-Norco Unified School District spokeswoman, said her district plans to send out a survey to seniors on Friday, asking if they prefer a traditional ceremony with a limit of four guests per household or a drive-through graduation. Families will have until April 23, to make their wishes known, she said in an email.
The fast-developing graduation plans come as Gov. Gavin Newsom is preparing to let California’s economy fully reopen on June 15. However, most ceremonies will take place prior to the middle of June, so districts are planning ceremonies in the context of current health guidelines.
“Our graduations are in May,” Walker said. “So it will not have a major impact on us as a district.”