SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) — The Sioux Falls High School graduation scheduled for May 24th will go on–not in person, but virtually.
Superintendent Brian Maher said high school seniors overwhelming wanted a graduation ceremony.
Then in June, there will be face to face graduations scheduled for each high school–COVID 19 permitting.
Below is the District’s letter to graduating seniors.
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Hello Seniors in the Class of 2020:
This letter will have several purposes. Purpose number one is to say congratulations on your upcoming graduation from the Sioux Falls School District. You have endured a peculiar time in history. For your endurance and for your many accomplishments as a student in Sioux Falls, I am proud of you and optimistic for your future.
I want to let you know what our plan is for a graduation ceremony this year. In the past two weeks, I have had the pleasure of talking – virtually, of course – with student representatives from each high school and with members of my Student Advisory Group. In addition to those conversations, each of you had an opportunity to fill out a survey and express opinions about how we should handle the situation we are faced with today.
After reviewing the information from the conversations and the survey data, one topic was clear: you want to graduate together! The conversations left no doubt that you want to see your friends and your classmates at a graduation ceremony. Further, we want to make that happen for you. I want to thank you. Your feedback made this decision an easy decision.
You are well-aware of the face-to-face restrictions we currently endure as a result of Covid-19. The issue of social distancing makes planning a face-to-face ceremony quite problematic. The most recent information available on Covid-19 infection rates in Sioux Falls (available to us anyway) suggests we will have peak infection rates as a city in early to mid-May. We do not know what will happen after that peak and we know that this data tends to change rather quickly.
As a result of the current information coupled with our desire to provide a meaningful conclusion to your high school experience, I will explain our new plan. I will explain the plan with two points of emphasis: 1. What has changed from the original plan? And 2. What is the new plan?
What has changed?
The face-to-face graduation ceremony scheduled for May 24 at the Arena is cancelled. It is not reasonable to think this option can be carried out. As a result, we will make an alternative plan that has several parts.
What is the new plan?
The new plan begins with a virtual ceremony – on May 24. Your feedback informed me that several graduates will not be available for a rescheduled graduation ceremony. Some students have a military enlistment that will prevent them from attending a rescheduled ceremony. Other students will be absent after May 24 for a variety of reasons. The thought in several conversations was to have a virtual component to graduation so that ALL students had an opportunity for a celebration of graduation. The virtual graduation will be broadcast on KLRN-TV and each virtual graduation will “Premier” on our YouTube Channel. The detail of the virtual graduation will come from your principal in a follow-up correspondence.
The next piece of the plan is a rescheduled graduation ceremony – a ceremony that is in-person. We are setting two dates for this option. The first option is for a ceremony the end of June – June 27 and 28 specifically. The second option is for a ceremony the end of July – July 25 and 26 specifically.
New Tech will graduate on June 27 at 11:00 AM – OR – July 25 at 11:00 AM
Lincoln will graduate on June 27 at 7:00 PM – OR – July 25 at 7:00 PM
Roosevelt will graduate on June 28 at 11:00 AM – OR – July 26 at 11:00 AM
Washington will graduate on June 28 at 7:00 PM – OR – July 26 at 7:00 PM
The graduations will take place at Howard Wood Field. We believe the outdoor space may provide us alternatives that a confined indoor space may not allow. We also recognize there are issues that can arise with the outdoor alternative. However, we believe Howard Wood Field will provide a very nice alternative for the graduation ceremony in this most unusual year.
It is our hope that students, family and friends will be able to attend the ceremonies. If the June date does not work due to Covid-19, we will make the decision to postpone as soon as it is prudent to do so. We recognize it is difficult to put a summer schedule together as a family and we will work to give you as much advance notice on any decision regarding graduation.
If the July date does not work, we will all move on to our next adventure in life without an in-person graduation ceremony. It was determined there needed to be a date established as a “don’t go beyond this date.” There is no science to determine this date. Conversation with students led me to believe that sometime in late July, or early August, made the most sense for all parties to move on if we have not had the opportunity for the celebration by this date.
As you likely suspect, the actual decision to have the event may be out of our hands. We will lean on the Department of Health for guidance. We will work with our partners at the City of Sioux Falls for wisdom and facts. We believe our partners will help us make the best decision possible for all involved.
Finally, it is with the greatest amount of sincerity I can muster when I tell you, I hope to see each and every one of you graduate in person this summer!
With great appreciation for your work:
Brian Maher
Sioux Falls School District – Superintendent
(Todd Epp, KELO.com News, contributed this report.)
