Soledad High School seniors negotiate with district over graduation
SOLEDAD, Calif. (KION) High school seniors in Soledad banded together with parents over the last week to push for something more personal than a drive-through graduation ceremony.
“It’s a huge milestone that we all want to celebrate together, not just a hundred feet apart in separate vehicles,” student Olivia Fale said.
They said they asked the school district for a more "normal" experience, and they sent examples of what that could look like. In the proposition, students and their families would be physically present, but with precautions.
On Wednesday, the high school came back with a compromise. The seniors will be able to drive up, get out of their cars, and walk--six feet apart--to claim their diplomas. Then, they will return to their cars.
“I think we’re just grateful that we’re able to get out of the vehicles now,” Fale said.
And some parents are happy the district met them in the middle.
“This is a big deal," parent Jamie Cox said. "As graduating college, as them getting their first job, or getting married, or having a child.”
But not all of them are satisfied.
“You see people standing at Walmart, Costco, Target—social distancing with their mask," parent Stephanie Estrada said. "What’s the difference between the kids?”
And seniors say their thoughts are also with the juniors. whose final year is starting up in the fall.
“Hopefully, here, they’ll be able to be back on campus physically because we know that we can accommodate that,” student Evelina Ramirez said.
They said they have so few cases in South County that they don't think it should be a problem for students to come back in person.
“If you’re learning remotely, it’s just not the same experience," Ramirez said. "You don’t get the same one-on-one with your teachers or anything like that.”
But State Superintendent Tony Thurmond said the reality might be a bit more complicated.
“We expect that there will be a balance of instruction between distance learning and in-class instruction,” Thurmond said.
But for now, the Soledad High School graduation ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, June 6.
