|
 |
The Columbus Dispatch
Ohio schools, families get creative to honor 2020 high school graduates amid coronavirus
By Allison Ward
May 3, 2020
Not only are parents of this year’s high school seniors grappling with
how to best honor graduates amid stay-at-home orders and strict
restrictions on mass gatherings (10 or fewer people), but so are school
districts, teachers and entire communities.
Driving past Rhonda Snyder’s home in Canal Winchester, it’s not
difficult to discern what milestone her family is celebrating based on
the yard full of decorations.
Graduation caps. Multiple “Class of 2020” signs. Thirteen years worth of school photos lining the walkway.
“If you drive down my street, you know I have a (high school) senior,” Snyder said.
Though her 18-year-old son, Chris, has jokingly suggested his mother
needs “to get a new hobby” and her efforts might seem a bit overkill to
some, that’s the point, she said.
She hung only a small banner when her older son Zach graduated from
Canal Winchester High School in 2013, but Chris’ graduation is
different: It’s happening during a pandemic.
“Senior cut day, senior prank day, prom, graduation — he’ll have none
of those memories,” Snyder said. “We want to try to make up for that.
“We want to give them different memories that they can share with their kids and grandkids.”
Not only are parents of this year’s high school seniors grappling with
how to best honor graduates amid stay-at-home orders and strict
restrictions on mass gatherings (10 or fewer people), but so are school
districts, teachers and entire communities.
Nearly two weeks after Gov. Mike DeWine said students would remain at
home for the rest of the school year, graduation festivities are still
in limbo for many schools and families as they’ve scurried to plan,
scrap those plans and start over again as recommendations from state
officials have been changed and updated.
Initially, many districts began to reschedule graduations for later in the summer when the coronavirus threat may be tempered.
However, the Ohio Department of Education has said postponing
graduations is not a recommended option because it “may lead to
additional disappointment.”
“Postponement carries the risk that circumstances may be no different
later in the year than they are at the present time. The manner in
which the virus will progress is unknown,” the education department
website notes.
The state education department has since recommended that graduations
be virtual, but it says drive-thru and single-family, in-person
ceremonies that are “structured and controlled” would be another option.
However, the department warned that would involve “more care and complex planning.”
In other words, get creative.
“We’ve all been scratching our heads to figure out the best way to
honor them,” said Judy Hengstebeck, communication coordinator for the
Gahanna-Jefferson Public School District.
Mason City Schools in Warren County have submitted a plan to Gov. Mike
DeWine’s administration to have an in-person high school graduation in
shifts at its Atrium Stadium. That’s in addition to a virtual ceremony
planned May 24 that would be streamed live with recorded speeches and
music.
Mason High School is the largest in Ohio by enrollment, according to
2018 figures. Each of Mason’s 887 graduates would be recognized at the
virtual event, and a recording of the virtual event would air later on
local cable TV and be archived on the district’s YouTube page.
Afterward, students and families could ride their decorated vehicles on
a route to be announced.
But the fluidity of the situation has made rearranging graduation a
difficult process, especially for larger districts such as Columbus
City Schools, which have 20 high schools, said Robert Murphy, an
interim area superintendent within the Columbus district.
“We know if seniors had it their way, we’d have graduation as usual,
but with the governor’s mandates and social distancing, we can’t do
what we’ve always done,” Murphy said. “It’s incumbent upon us to come
up with a meaningful way that our seniors are recognized for all their
hard work but still safe.”
During a virtual town hall meeting hosted by Columbus schools Thursday,
many angry and sad-faced emojis flew across the screen highlighting
some of the frustration of students and parents.
However, Alesia Gillison, chief engagement officer, implored students to give them time — and ideas — to plan a new graduation.
“We are working on this diligently,” she said. “Trust me. You may not
see it now, but graduation for this class is going to go down in
history.”
With few districts’ plans set, some seniors do worry what these end-of-year ceremonies might look like.
“It’s been really hard,” said Natalia Figueroa Leal, a senior at Grove
City High School. “We didn’t even know we already had our last
goodbyes.”
That’s why, when she heard about a possible online graduation, she
started a Change.org petition that’s been signed by nearly 3,000
people, encouraging the South-Western City School District to look into
alternatives.
Figueroa Leal, 18, listed a number of other ideas, such as hosting a
drive-thru graduation where people could watch from their cars, or
having one student and one family member go into the auditorium at a
time.
“This still gives us the walking experience while not being exposed to the entire school,” Figueroa Leal said.
But most of all, she said, she created the petition to take back a
little control during a chaotic situation and to ensure students had a
voice. She’s since learned that district and school administrators were
meeting with student councils to discuss graduation.
Isabella Gonzalez, a senior at Columbus North International School, is
a student ambassador for Columbus City Schools and has had weekly
virtual meetings with staff and other seniors to discuss school issues
during this challenging time, including graduation.
They’ve floated ideas like having a “caravan” graduation or videotaping
seniors receiving their diplomas individually to put into a graduation
video.
“As long as we get a feeling of closure and togetherness, that’s what
graduation provides,” said Gonzalez, 18. “And we get to say our
thank-yous.”
She acknowledged that it’s difficult to know what will satisfy expectations.
“Graduation has been such a consistent thing for forever, and now we’re going so against the norm,” Gonzalez said.
Others are leading efforts beyond a ceremony to ensure that seniors know they’re not forgotten.
On Thursday, 90 educators in the Gahanna district hand-delivered
special “Class of 2020” signs to its roughly 600 seniors. Bishop
Watterson High School and others have done the same.
“If we can put a sign in their yard and make them feel good, we’re
going to do it,” Hengstebeck said about Gahanna’s seniors. “We are so
extremely proud of them.”
Plus, she said, the district has “a couple secrets up its sleeves” for other festivities.
Many area seniors have received surprises in their mailboxes from
community members who have “adopted” them through various
adopt-a-senior Facebook groups that have been created. Adopters send
cards, snacks and other gifts.
Other schools have blown up senior photos and placed them around their campuses or have scheduled car parades.
Brandon Sullivan, the upper academic dean at the private Wellington
School in Upper Arlington, wrote each of his 66 seniors’ names on a
rock and placed them along a trail at Blendon Woods Metro Park.
And parents are getting creative, too.
Christie Van Houten and other relatives orchestrated a photo shoot for
the six graduates from five different schools in their family,
including her son Nate, from Central Crossing High School in the
South-Western City School District.
“It lifted our spirits to get together,” Christie Van Houten said. “For a half an hour, we had some normalcy.”
Added Nate Van Houten, “This stinks for all of us, but it was cool we could do this.”
His great-aunt Rhonda Snyder took the photos, which also included Chris Snyder.
Rhonda Snyder said that while it’s been difficult watching her son and
family members miss out on some of the traditional end-of-year
celebrations, she said the wonderful photos of their seniors together
would’ve never happened without the pandemic.
Their ceremonies were all scheduled for the same day: May 30.
“No way would we even think to get them all in their caps and gowns and
get them together,” Snyder said. “We never thought of it until we were
all homebound.”
|
|
|
|
