Highland High School gears up for adjusted in-person graduation this spring
Highland is planning to go forward with an in-person graduation ceremony this spring, albeit with major changes from pre-pandemic years.
Last year, Highland High School did a virtual graduation, in which the seniors and their parents each “walked the stage” and got their pictures taken individually, with 10 minutes’ spacing between groups. Approximately 190 graduates passed through the building with parents and siblings.
This took five days for the “graduation” itself, and a great deal of planning and logistics, according to Superintendent Mike Sutton. While the entire ceremony was videotaped with prerecorded speeches for the students and their families, this year he said they want to attempt an in-person graduation.
“We’re going to put all our eggs in this basket,” he said. “We are going to make the best effort we can make to do right by our kids, and that’s to provide an in-person graduation ceremony.”
The tentative plan is to hold the graduation outside on the football field, with the students spaced 6 feet apart on the field and the families staggered 6 feet apart in the stands. All attendees will be required to wear masks.
“I think being outside is our best chance at being able to accommodate all the kids,” Sutton said.
The district will set a three-day window for the ceremony to account for weather problems, Sutton said.
Sutton told the District 5 school board there would be some kind of livestream available for students and family members who could not participate for health or other reasons.
As of February, Illinois state regulations limit public gatherings to no more than 50 people, but that has been in flux according to the numbers of COVID-19 infections and other factors.
“I have learned not to make assumptions or even try to guess on the (crowd) capacity limits that will be in place in May, but we will do our best to follow all the guidelines while producing the best experience for our students and families,” Sutton said.
School board members were generally in favor of the outdoor graduation proposal.
“As long as we communicate with the parents and the seniors, I would support whatever you have in mind,” one board member said.
2020 graduation project at HHS
The 2020 graduation was a project involving 60-70 hours of planning for Highland High School Principal Chris Becker alone, as well as the rest of his staff and the faculty. The Highland High School Choir spent the fourth quarter of last year recording a singing project via Zoom, and the band recorded the individual students on their instruments at home and mixed them together for the musical portion of the ceremony.
The program was edited together into a video broadcast on local-access cable and online, as well as provided to the seniors and their families. Approximately 10,000 people watched the broadcast with another 4,300 views on YouTube.
Sutton said the plans are still developing for logistics on the 2021 graduation. Some complications might be details like printing announcements when the date is uncertain, but Sutton said he believes they “will exceed everyone’s expectations.”