New summer Class of 2019 graduates face their families and supporters after a ceremony at West Salem High School (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter)
Students from the Class of 2020 were loud and clear: they want to walk across a graduation stage.
After talking with senior class leaders and high school principals last week, Salem-Keizer Superintendent Christy Perry put forward a plan to schedule the ceremonies typically held in early June to August.
Of the 2,600 members of the senior class, about 1,900 had completed the schoolwork needed to graduate when the state required Salem-Keizer schools to stop in-person classes on March 13. High school teachers, counselors and staff are working with the remaining seniors to complete needed credits over the rest of the school year.
The graduation change would require Gov. Kate Brown’s ban on large gatherings to be lifted by August. If restrictions are still in place, high schools would hold smaller in-person ceremonies for graduates and immediate family only, or only graduates themselves.
If no in-person event is possible, high schools would then hold a virtual ceremony in August. Perry will make a decision by July 6.
The district’s tentative schedule for in-person graduation events is:
Aug. 2 – Black/African American Graduation Celebration, 3-5 p.m., location TBA
Aug. 3 – AVID Senior Recognition, 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Oregon State Fairgrounds Pavilion
Aug. 4 – West Salem High Commencement, 10 a.m.-noon, Oregon State Fairgrounds Pavilion
Aug. 4 – Sprague High Commencement, 10 a.m.-noon, Sprague High
Aug. 5 – McKay High Commencement, 10 a.m.-noon, Oregon State Fairgrounds Pavilion
Aug. 5 – Roberts High Commencement, time TBA, Elsinore Theater
Aug. 6 – North Salem High Commencement, 10 a.m.-noon, Oregon State Fairgrounds Pavilion
Aug. 6 – Early College High School Commencement, time TBA, Elsinore Theater
Aug. 7 – McNary Commencement, 10 a.m.-noon, Oregon State Fairgrounds Pavilion
Aug. 8 – South Commencement, 10 a.m.-noon, Oregon State Fairgrounds Pavilion
Other graduation events have not yet been rescheduled. Those include the Eagle Feather Ceremony, which recognizes Native American graduates, the Pacific Islander graduation ceremony and the Community Transition Program graduation for young adults with disabilities.
Seniors will also be able to return to their high schools during the first weeks of May to collect caps and gowns and return Chromebooks or textbooks. A full schedule of those days is available on the district website.
Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.
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Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers city news, education, nonprofits and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for a decade. Outside of work, she’s a skater and board member with Salem’s Cherry City Roller Derby and can often be found with her nose buried in a book.
