Natomas Unified School District will conduct virtual graduation ceremonies for high schools
.JPG "A sign at Natomas High School indicates that the school is closed on Friday, March 13, 2020. District officials said Thursday that no one in Natomas Unified had been diagnosed with the coronavirus, but said that at least one student came to Natomas High on Thursday with potential symptoms. The district-wide shutdown was planned to end Monday, but the reopening was postponed Friday afternoon when the Sacramento County Office of Education announced all public schools would close for at least two weeks.")
Natomas Unified School District announced it will hold virtual graduation ceremonies for its high school graduates on May 21.
The district also said an in-person ceremony in the summer is possible if large gatherings are permitted as the state continues to mitigate the spread of coronavirus, according to an email statement from the district superintendent.
The virtual ceremonies, which will be broadcast on YouTube and the district website, will include messages from high school principals, students and staff, and the Board of Trustees president.
The decision came after the district surveyed families and graduating seniors how they wanted to end the school year. While some seniors were less excited about the idea of a virtual ceremony, more than half of the district’s families wanted one.
“This is definitely an effort to make a memory out of a difficult situation for the Class of 2020,” read an email statement from superintendent Chris Evans. “I wish the global condition allowed us to safely do more. And while it is not anyone’s fault, I can say to you all, ‘I am truly sorry.’”
Evans said there is no guarantee that an in-person ceremony can take place later in the summer, and it will depend on how limited large gatherings will still be at the time.
“With all the unpredictability out there on what our new ‘normal’ will look like, we just don’t know yet if this is a possibility,” he said in his email. “However, until we know otherwise, we will look at how we can plan for an in-person celebration later in the summer. In a few weeks, we may know if this is a possibility or an impossibility.”
Natomas Unified will also pay for students’ caps and gowns, and each high school will distribute “Class of 2020” lawn and window signs.
Plans regarding ceremonies for kindergarten, fifth grade and eighth grade will be announced later in the month, according to the district.
Universities began announcing their commencement ceremony decisions in recent weeks. Both the University of California, Davis and California State University, Sacramento will hold their ceremonies online.