COVID-19 robbed local graduating seniors of any semblance of normalcy for 2020 commencement exercises, but one East Tallahatchie School District official hopes that this year’s ceremonies will restore at least some of the tradition that was missing.
ETSD Board of Trustees President Bryant Watson said Tuesday that the district will conduct the following three “transition programs,” aka graduation events, next week:
» Charleston Elementary School: Wednesday, May 19, starting at 5 p.m.
» Charleston Middle School: Thursday, May 20, beginning at 5 p.m.
» Charleston High School: Friday, May 21, at 6 p.m.
All three programs will be held in the Morgan Freeman Auditorium on the campus of CHS, Watson added.
In all cases, everyone entering the auditorium will have their temperature taken.
Per state order, masks must be worn inside school buildings through the end of the 2020-21 session, including at graduation, Watson noted.
Social distancing recommendations and other Centers for Disease Control and Prevention safety protocols will be followed, Watson added.
While keeping everyone safe is the first order of business, “giving the students some sense of normalcy [at] graduation” comes in a close second, he said.
“This graduation is going to be a little bit better than the one we had last year after everything came up and they were scrambling to get things done,” Watson noted.
Watson said this year’s seniors have been very involved in planning and have offered a lot of input.
“They’re pleased with it, and they’re excited,” he noted.
In 2020, each senior was given their own special time slot to appear outside the auditorium. Each walked down the left aisle of the auditorium and his or her entourage — a maximum of four guests were allowed — walked single-file down the right aisle. Seniors crossed the stage, received their diploma and were permitted a few photos before exiting the building. There was no audience, no formal program. Valedictory and salutatory addresses were prerecorded and incorporated into a video of the event that was later posted on the district website.
This year’s graduation will include a formal program and, as usual, there will be a seated audience of onlookers.
Watson said each graduate was allowed seven tickets for guests and had to submit the names of their invited guests by May 11.
On graduation night, attendees must be on the predesignated guest list and they must have a ticket to enter the auditorium, he said.
“They’ll go in, get seated, and then we’ll start the graduation process for the kids to come up, walk across and get their pictures with their family, and then move out. We’re not having any congregating in the cafeteria or anywhere else,” Watson explained.
Those attending graduation may notice some enhancements in the auditorium, including new lights, Watson said. He noted that the district has “fixed, upgraded, changed out and renewed” numerous areas at all three school campuses, including installing new awnings at schools. Graduation will be the first time many people will have an opportunity to see some of the improvements.
Watson credited CHS principal Mark Beechem with spearheading planning and coordinating for the upcoming school ceremonies.
“Mr. Beechem has done a wonderful job of getting that done and facilitating with the rest of the principals from the middle school and the elementary school to have those other transition programs at the high school," he said. "We’re happy that everybody will be able to have some part of what we normally would do for those students.”
Watson said the district has again purchased individualized yard signs, which feature the name and photo of each student, for staking in the lawn at the high school. After graduation, they may take the sign with them. “I’m hoping that this continues every year. I think it’s a nice touch from the school,” he added.
While the pandemic continues to dictate that certain allowances be made for the sake of safety, Watson noted that making the transition programs — for students moving from elementary to middle school and from middle school to high school — and the graduation of seniors a special and memorable experience is very important.
That is especially true for the seniors, he explained.
“The reality is, for some of those students, this will be their only graduation,” Watson said. “Some of them won’t go to college, some of them won’t have a chance to walk the stage again. For some of them, they’re the first person out of their family to get a high school diploma and this program means everything to them. So I’m so glad that we have been able to put a lot of effort into getting it formed and having it as close to normal as possible.”
