Republic plans to hold two separate graduation ceremonies for the Class of 2020. The first is a drive-through graduation at Republic High School on Saturday, May 9. The second is a traditional ceremony scheduled for August 1 at JQH Arena in Springfield, if possible.
The district announced its plans this morning:
To ensure all 2020 graduates are honored and celebrated, RHS will host two graduation ceremonies. The first will be a Drive-Through Graduation on Saturday, May 9 where families can pile in their car (or several cars) together with their graduate and head to RHS where staff will be waiting (6 feet apart) to greet each graduate, parking lot style! Dressed in caps and gowns, 2020 graduates will drive up to a graduation station set-up in the RHS parking lot complete with a podium to receive their diploma from Board of Education members and RHS administrators. Graduates’ names will be announced over the PA system in the parking lot, and FREE professional pictures will be taken.”
High school principal Tyler Overstreet said during the planning process, he and other staff members believed it was important to hold some kind of ceremony on the same weekend as graduation was originally scheduled.
“We just felt very strongly about finding a way to give every senior a chance to be recognized. This was the weekend it’s been set for almost a year now, so we felt strongly that we needed to do something to recognize those kids then, because that’s what they’d all been planning for,” Overstreet said. “Starting the middle of May, then all through the summer, there are seniors who are going to be leaving for boot camp, or they’re going to have summer jobs, or they’re going to be enrolled in summer classes, so we wanted to shoot for something on the originally planned weekend, then have the traditional ceremony if allowed on August 1st.”
Ongoing conversations with students about the abrupt end of the school year have been a driving motivator for district officials as they’ve planned the end-of-year activities.
“We know from the talks we have with kids how much they miss being at school, how much they miss their friends and for our seniors, how disappointing it is,” Overstreet said. “We wanted to put a plan together to give them the recognition they deserve in the most appropriate way we can.”
The drive-through graduation ceremony will stretch over several hours as students and families drive through the line in groups divided alphabetically. Overstreet said logistics will be released to seniors’ families soon. A secondary date is also in the works, in case weather postpones the outdoor ceremony.
One side effect of the change, Overstreet said, is that families and their graduates will have a closer experience than usual.
“It’s going to be able to give a more unique and sentimental feel to the family as a whole, because they’ll be able to be right there with the graduate,” rather than sitting in the stands and watching from afar.
A virtual senior awards and scholarship night is planned for May 4. And if state and local authorities have given clearance, the district plans a traditional prom on July 24. The details, including the location, are still being worked out. Plans are also in the works for Baccalaureate and Project Graduation events.