More than 100 members of the Mount Airy High School Class of 2020 finally got a chance to celebrate graduation — though it was far different than the ceremonies enjoyed by their predecessors over the years.
The students gathered recently for a morning graduation at the high school’s Wallace Shelton Stadium, with graduates required to sit 6 feet apart, wear masks, and they were each limited to just two family members attending the ceremonies. All of those measures were in keeping with CDC recommendations and state mandates for public gatherings, aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19.
“It was a little different, but it was still a wonderful ceremony,” said Dr. Kim Morrison, city schools superintendent.
She said the school system began working with the seniors and their parents in the spring, shortly after Gov. Roy Cooper’s stay-at-home orders meant educational activities had to go virtual and most extracurricular activities were cancelled.
She said the vast majority of parents and students wanted to wait until later in the year to hold a graduation ceremony, hoping those restrictions would ease. They did not, forcing the school system into altering the graduation ceremony.
One unfortunate fallout, she said, was that a few of the students were not able to attend, having already moved on to military service or college. Still, she said most students were able to take part, and those who could not, as well as any other friends and relatives not in attendance, were able to watch the ceremony being live streamed on the city school’s website.
Additionally, she said all graduates were given a video of the day’s events, and the recording is still available online.
“This class will have a lot of mementos to take with them,” she said.
The ceremony did include three student speeches, but those were recorded ahead of time and played on large screens in the stadium. As the students were called to the stage, each one came individually, while others maintained social distancing.
She said the ceremony took about twice as long as a typical graduation.
There were 126 graduates in this year’s class, according to information supplied by the city school system. Among those, 37 qualified as honor graduates, 18 as Summa Cum Laude, 12 as Magna Cum Laude and seven as Cum Laude. Roughly 12% of the class is entering the workforce or military service, while the remaining 88% plan on attending a two- or four-year college this autumn. All totaled, those continuing their education were offered more than $1.5 million in scholarships.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com