Below is an article that was written in the Northern Virginia Daily on April 29th, 2020.
SHENANDOAH COUNTY - It won’t be the traditional graduation ceremony the Class of 2020 certainly anticipated when it began the 2019-20 school year, but seniors in the Shenandoah County Public Schools system will still have their chance to walk across a stage and receive their diplomas in person upon their graduation next month.
Principals at Central, Stonewall Jackson and Strasburg high schools revealed on Wednesday afternoon their plans for holding graduation ceremonies amid the COVID-19 pandemic, all of which follow the same formula: seniors, dressed in cap and gown, will arrive one-by-one at their respective schools at a designated date and time and take their turn in a prolonged ceremony that will span several days.
While it’s not what would be considered normal by traditional standards, the principals at all three high schools agreed it’s the best – and safest – way to provide seniors a formal ceremony in a world where restrictions on social gatherings have become the new norm.
“I think this is a great way to honor our seniors,” said Strasburg Principal Melissa Foltz. “I certainly wanted the opportunity for them to walk across the stage and have that mark the end of high school and a new beginning for them, for their future. With everything that we’re going through in our society, I don’t see any other way to do it.”
Central’s graduation ceremony will take place on May 14, 15 and 16 on the football field, according to Principal Lori Swortzel, with eight hours each day committed to the ceremony. Strasburg’s graduation will run May 14, 15, 16 and 17, also on the school’s football field, with varying time frames each day, according to a letter Foltz sent to parents on Wednesday. Stonewall’s graduation will occur the week of May 18 in the gymnasium, Principal Mike Dorman said, though he noted that he planned on meeting with the school’s guidance office on Thursday to discuss specific dates and times, with the hope of providing parents with more concrete details by early next week.
Graduating seniors at Central and Strasburg will be able to begin signing up online for their preferred day and time slot on this morning, and rain dates are set in place.
At Central, the largest of the three high schools in Shenandoah County, students will be able to sign up for 30-minute blocks on one of the three designated days, and each block will include six graduating seniors. That format allows friends to witness each other’s graduations in person, Swortzel said, and would allow families with more than one graduate a chance to attend the same portion of the ceremony.
Swortzel said designated spots for each graduate and their family will be marked on the school’s football field to maintain social-distancing standards.
“One of the good things that has come out of this is parents will actually get to be right at the stage with their kids, watching their kids walk across, so it’ll actually be a little more personalized experience,” Swortzel said.
She added that two stages will be set up on Central’s football field, one for graduates to receive their diplomas and another for any seniors who are receiving scholarships or awards.
“We’re doing everything we can to make this as meaningful as possible,” Swortzel said. “I know that ideally it’s not what our kids would like, but ideally it’s not what we want our world to be like right now.”
At Strasburg, Foltz said only one graduating seniors and their parents or guardians will be allowed on the football field at a time, and each graduate will receive 10 minutes for their portion of the ceremony. Foltz added that other members of a graduate’s family may sit in the bleachers, where it’s their responsibility to maintain social-distancing protocol.
Dorman said Stonewall’s graduation, which will take place indoors, will follow a structure similar to Strasburg’s, with each graduate likely having 10 minutes to receive a diploma and any awards they’re being given and to have pictures taken. Dorman added that he’ll likely ask graduates to have no more than 10 guests attend their portion of the ceremony.
All three high schools will record their ceremonies to be compiled into a video, and Swortzel said Central’s plan is to have a Class of 2020 reunion, where a video of the school’s ceremony will be played, after social restrictions are lifted.
Wednesday’s graduation announcement came after a series of discussions that Foltz said took place between all three principals, Schools Superintendent Mark Johnston and the rest of the administrative team at the School Board Office. Foltz said the model she and her fellow principals agreed upon follows the one recently used by Louisa County High School, which served as inspiration for their decision.
Some school divisions, like Frederick County Public Schools, have opted for virtual ceremonies, but all three Shenandoah County principals said it was important to them to hold some type of ceremony in-person.
“Doing something virtual is just not the same as being able to look them in the eye,” said Dorman, who has a son graduating from Stonewall this year. “I might not be able to give them the traditional hug and do what I do, but at least I can hand (the diploma) to them, look them in the eye, say some things to them personally.”
Swortzel, who is in her first year at Central, said the school’s 2020 class is a special one, adding that it’s been difficult having to settle for a non-traditional ceremony.
“Your first year kind of sets the tone for things and I’m not able to do that,” Swortzel said. “I had some really cool things that I wanted to add to the family here. I’m not able to do those kinds of things at this time. I feel like I let the kids down. It’s really hard. I think this is the best compromise where we’re getting to have some in-person time with the kids.”
This year is also a special one for Foltz. Strasburg’s 2020 class was beginning kindergarten when Foltz started her career as an administrator as an assistant principal at Sandy Hook Elementary.
“I performed their fifth-grade graduation. To be able to be there at the beginning and to be there at the end, I just wanted the opportunity to see them off,” Foltz said. “I started with them and I want them to end with me, and I wanted it to end with them walking across the stage and me having the opportunity to pronounce them graduates of Strasburg High School in Shenandoah County.”
– Contact Brad Fauber at bfauber [at] nvdaily.com (bfauber[at]nvdaily[dot]com)