Highland schools making graduation plans. Find out what options are on the table.

Highland school leaders are trying to work out a solution to the problem faced by high schools nationwide: How to honor the class of 2020.

The Highland District 5 School Board discussed a proposal Monday that would create a virtual graduation ceremony via video, as provided in partnership with Jostens. Students would come to campus individually, separated in 10-minute increments, to walk the stage and get a picture taken at a social distance.

Speeches would be recorded in advance. On the day graduation was supposed to happen, the video would be released to watch “live” online and would be available to graduates’ families free of charge.

“Here’s what I want everyone to understand,” said Superintendent Mike Sutton. “Even to the extent we’re trying to honor the senior class, there are still concerns we have to take care of. Even having them come in one by one, there are circumstances difficult to control.”

Sutton said there are a lot of logistics that would have to be sorted out to make it work, with approximately 200 graduates passing through the building with parents, people in parking lots and other issues making social distancing challenging.

In addition, there are issues with who will be allowed to accompany the student. Some students have several siblings, or their parents are divorced.

“There are absolutely no guarantees in a process like this,” he said. “This is the direction we would love to go to honor the graduates of 2020, but it’s not without risk. Should something happen and someone should get sick, we would have to answer to that.”

But in a survey sent out to seniors and their parents, Sutton said 60 percent wanted a combination of a virtual ceremony and formal real-life ceremony.

The latter is just as challenging, he said: Parents have reported some of their kids are going to summer school, college, the work force or the military.

“The longer we get away from the end of the school year, the more difficult it will be to get everyone together,” Sutton said.

If they go forward with the videotaped ceremony, a professional photographer will be on hand to take pictures as has been done every year, Sutton said. But the parents will also be allowed to take their own pictures. Caps and gowns were already delivered in a drive-through pickup line at the high school, he said.

The graduation video project is being offered by Jostens at no cost to the district or the graduates, Sutton said.

Meanwhile, there are other logistics being worked out for District 5 schools.

“When we closed, we didn’t know we would be closed for the remainder of the year,” Sutton said.

Last day of school May 22, hopes for a normal return in August

The schools have lockers full of personal belongings, students have textbooks and technology items at home, and teachers need to clean out their classrooms. All that needs to be addressed before May 22, which is the last day of school.

“I will be the first to say that, no, we weren’t prepared,” Sutton said. “Of course we weren’t ready; we have never had to do this before ... But we have tried to improve. There’s a long road to hoe to get this to an acceptable level to educate kids.”

And that preparation extends to the fall, as there are currently no guarantees schools will reopen with normal operations in August. Sutton said Highland is using its funds from the federal CARES Act and its own technology fund to order 1,000 Chromebooks for students, and exploring options to provide Wi-Fi hotspots for students and families without reliable access, which he said is essential for remote learning.

“They all simply do not have it right now,” Sutton said.

No final decisions have been made, but Sutton has said “many announcements” will be forthcoming soon.