Hundreds of mortarboards are supposed to be flying into the air following commencement speeches in May, but the fate of graduation ceremonies are what’s up in the air right now.
Local school officials are currently studying what, if anything, can be done to salvage the culminating celebrations for the class of 2020, but if current social distancing guidelines continue, seniors may get their diplomas without much pomp and circumstance.
In early April Gov. Tate Reeves announced that distance learning should continue and Mississippi schools were to remain closed for the rest of the semester.
He said thinking about the effect it would have on the children made the decision tough on him, but he ultimately deemed it not safe to reopen schools.
He added that the students who follow along with distance learning should be able to graduate on time; however, in light of his recent safer-at-home order, few if any provisions were made as to themuch-awaited graduation celebrations.
That leaves area headmasters and the Sunflower County Consolidated School District superintendent stuck with figuring out how to make sure the county’s graduates are not deprived of the honor of being recognized for their hard work that got them to this point.
North Sunflower Academy Headmaster Janet Ray said NSA has tentatively scheduled a graduation ceremony for May 15 at 7 p.m. However, it is yet unclear as to whether it will be an outdoor or an indoor activity with limited seating for the 14 graduates and their invitees. "We're going to wait until probably the week before, but it will either be on our football field or with limited guests in the gym," she said.
Indianola Academy Headmaster Charlie Mason said he has not set any definite plans yet. “We are making some contingency plans, but we really have not decided on anything a hundred percent yet,” he said.
Mason said they were looking at several options, which included an outside ceremony, but no possible dates. He said he has meetings planned with his staff and should know something by the end of this week.
IA’s senior class consists of 32 graduates who like the other students have been steadily engaged in distance learning activities. “We're fortunate that all of our high school students have Macs that we issued, so we've done really well. It's been a fairly smooth thing,” Mason said.
The headmaster indicated that he has also been video conferencing with the teachers and the school as a whole has been adjusting to the changes.
SCCSD Superintendent Miskia Davis said, like IA, they have not finalized any arrangements. "We're just kind of waiting to see where we are with regard to the spread of the virus. We're not comfortable exposing our children to the elements or families or anybody, so we're just waiting to get more guidance from MDE and the center for health," Davis said.
She emphasized that she is certain no graduation ceremony will take place in May; however, she is hopeful that they will be able to set something up for late summer. Davis indicated that she was meeting with State Superintendent Dr. Carey M. Wright on Monday to get further guidance.
And although she was doubtful that Wright would grant the district clearance to hold a ceremony, she asserted that she would be more than happy to move forward, but for now they're in a holding pattern. “We're just not comfortable right now planning a date," she added.
