The last official school calendar day for students in grades K-11 is June 16. “Students should be prepared to work with teachers up until that very last day,” said Superintendent Heather Perry. “As is typical even during our ‘regular school experience’ the last few weeks of school can be more focused on interventions, enrichment, and transition experiences.”
Gorham High School (GHS) has decided to move the end of the third quarter to the end of the year, which means moving to a trimester system for this academic year due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
During the two-week period of May 18-29, seniors who need extra time for remediation will have an individualized plan, similar to traditional summer school but completed online, in which they will be provided direct support to meet standards. Seniors who have met graduation standards will be provided opportunities for remote workplace learning designed to replicate the normal senior internship program.
The first is to participate in three to five interactive Zoom conversations focused on specific careers and life skills. The second is to plan an independent workplace learning experience in their field of interest (that adheres to social distancing recommendations).
The first week in June will be spent in preparation for graduation exercises. This year’s graduation exercises will be held, but in a very different format than in the past.
Brian Jandreau, GHS principal, announced plans for the 2020 GHS graduation in his May 3 weekly newsletter to students and parents. Graduation will occur over two days on Saturday, June 6, and Sunday, June 7, at GHS’ McCormack Performing Arts Center (MPAC).
“Since the early days of our government’s ‘stay at home’ order, I have been exploring options to celebrate the Class of 2020,” said Jandreau. “I have received well over two hundred emails from students and parents with ideas for how to hold graduation during this unprecedented pandemic, consulted with fellow principals from Cumberland and York counties, reviewed news and Internet articles from around the world, met with student leaders and other stakeholders in our community, and deliberated with GHS staff.”
Throughout the process, he debated many different scenarios. He spent a lot of time considering the drive-in movie theater option and consulted with some of GHS’ media experts and logistically this seemed like a very difficult feat. In the end, he said they were unable to find a way to make the drive-in movie theater option work.
He even contemplated postponing graduation until August so the school could still have a traditional graduation at Merrill Auditorium. However, after Governor Mills’ plan came out, it was clear that wasn’t going to happen.
Ultimately, he said he placed the most weight on what the students wanted.
“Time and time again, our seniors expressed the following wishes: They want to hear their name called and be given their diploma as they walk across the stage in their cap and gown; they want a traditional ceremony (at least as traditional a ceremony as is possible); and they want to be with their friends,” said Jandreau.
Therefore, based on the wishes of the overwhelming majority of students Jandreau heard from and based on what they are able to do within the confines of the governor’s orders (prohibition on gatherings of more than 50 people starting on June 1) and Gorham’s own capacity, they made a final decision to celebrate Gorham’s seniors with five or six graduation ceremonies over two days. Each of the ceremonies will be conducted as close to a traditional graduation as possible and will include a group of 36-40 seniors.
Jandreau initially communicated that parents would be unable to attend in person due the government’s constraints on gatherings. Instead, the school was going to offer a live stream of each ceremony. In the days following the announcement, he received a mix of emails ranging from disappointed parents, supportive parents, and students who were excited by the plans.
Senior parents who were disappointed created a petition titled “Let Parents of Gorham High School Seniors Attend Graduation,” and quickly gathered over 250 signatures in 24 hours. The petition was halted after a surprise email to senior parents on May 10 in which Jandreau started off by saying, “I’m writing this morning with a bit of a Mother’s Day gift.”
He went on to say that the updated graduation plan includes an opportunity for parents to see their graduate receive his or her diploma. Parents will be able to line up in alphabetical order outside of the auditorium while maintaining physical distancing. Before each senior is called up, the senior’s parents will enter the auditorium on the opposite end of the stage.
“Parents will hear their son or daughter’s name called, watch their son or daughter walk across the stage and receive their diploma, be able to hug their son or daughter, and have their picture taken with their son or daughter,” said Jandreau.
Once each family has their picture taken, the graduate will head back to his or her seat and the parents will exit the auditorium so that the next set of parents can enter.
Seniors will be given an opportunity to identify one friend, equivalent of a marching partner, to be part of the same ceremony. Based on the Maine’s Department of Education’s guidelines on graduation ceremonies, there will have to be about 11 seats between each graduate. They will have numbers on seats and assign each senior to a number so they know where to sit.
Jandreau is still reviewing the guidelines on wearing masks as well as gloves and/or the use of hand sanitizer during the ceremony. As of right now, the plan is for all the diplomas to be set up on a table behind the podium. One of the assistant principals will hand the diploma of the student coming across the stage to Jandreau and he will place it on a table next to the podium and step away so that the graduate can take his or her diploma as they walk by.
“We have never done a graduation during an international pandemic,” said Jandreau, “and we are trying to figure this out as we go. We need to ensure everyone’s safety, including the students’ safety as well as our staff’s safety.”
After the graduation ceremonies are concluded on June 7, the entire senior class will meet in their vehicles at a specified location in Gorham and be led by Gorham Police, Fire, Rescue, and Public Works in a parade around the entire town. Parents are invited to ride with their seniors and families should help decorate their vehicles.
“We have a tradition in Gorham with sports teams being escorted through the Village back to school by PD and Fire,” said Jandreau, “and the students thought it would be truly exciting to be with their families taking part in a parade like this.”
The parade route will include all the major areas of the town and will allow for the Gorham community to be involved and celebrate its seniors by cheering and holding signs. The parade will conclude with a special drive through the Village and end at GHS where many staff will be present to say goodbye to the graduating class.
Jandreau said the mini-graduations were never supposed to be the primary event; the primary event was the parade. The graduations were really just meant to be an opportunity for students to be in the MPAC one more time, with some of their friends, celebrating.
“Their time with families would be the parade, and their time with friends would be in MPAC,” said Jandreau. “They really couldn’t be with their friends during the parade, so the mini-graduations plan made the most sense given the constraints placed upon them.”
More details about the plan are being worked out, including how they will handle speeches, and will be reported to the School Committee this week. Finalized details and other events, such as Project Graduation, will be shared in the coming weeks.
Perry said in her blog that it isn’t possible to do what they would prefer to, which is to do what they have always done for graduating seniors. “However, what is possible, is to do something unique, and different, and something ‘epic’ that our graduating seniors won’t likely forget…and that is what we plan to do.”
“I would love to see every lawn in Gorham have some sort of sign up wishing our seniors the best of luck,” said Perry. “I would love to see businesses with signs in their windows and on their lawns congratulating seniors on their accomplishments. I would love to see cars lined up along the parade route from beginning to end with signs on them and people waving signs from their cars. I would love to hear honking horns and air horns and sirens and as much noise as possible echo across our community as our seniors celebrate the ending of one part of their lives and the beginning of a new.”