Community Support – From a Safe a Distance
Local Graduation Plans Vary by School
As graduation approaches, local school districts are taking different tactics to how they plan to host their final celebrations for the Senior Class of 2020.
“Different districts are tackling this in different ways,” said Schulenburg principal Charles Henke, whose school has come up with a unique approach –voting.
The family of each Schulenburg senior each had one vote on four different scenarios, from a completely virtual ceremony, two different versions of hybrid ceremonies in which graduates or small groups of grads would have time slots to graduate, or a ceremony at the football field with the entire class and social distancing measures. The school planned to announce the winning plan Monday.
Meanwhile, at La Grange, school officials decided to move back the graduation ceremony a month to Thursday June 25. If there is a big increase of Covid-19 cases by late June, the ceremony would be moved back to July 30.
In a letter sent to parents last week, superintendent Bill Wagner said, “It is hoped that by the end of June or July, there will be less spread of the virus and that an outdoor ceremony could be held with fewer restrictions than are in place currently.”
Wagner goes into detail in the letter about some of the current state restrictions LGISD is hoping get eased by the time that June 25 ceremony rolls around. Those include:
• capping the number of total participants to maximize social distancing both during the event and during any entry and exit to the event.
• Graduates and guests staying six feet apart at all times with the exception of members within the same household sitting together.
• The state’s suggestion that all attendees wear facemasks.
Last Wednesday the Texas Education Agency announcement that all in-person outdoor graduations in counties with five or more Covid-19 cases cannot occur before June 1. But then on Thursday the TEA revised those requirements, pushing up the first day for such graduations to May 29.
Both Fayetteville and Flatonia have announced that they plan to hold their graduation ceremonies on that Friday.
Round Top-Carmine superintendent Brandon Schovajsa said his district may wait until their school board meeting to May 18 to make a final decision.