On Friday, Waco ISD Superintendent Dr. Susan Kincannon announced graduation celebrations will be held at the Waco ISD Stadium. The ceremony for the University High Class of 2020 will be at 10 a.m. on May 29. The ceremony for the Waco High Class of 2020 will be at 10 a.m. on May 30
Family members and other guests will not be allowed to attend in-person at the stadium, said Dr. Kincannon. Instead, both ceremonies will be broadcast live on WISD-TV (channel 17 on cable) and online at wacoisd.org/live.
Waco and University High School students are working together to change these plans. They want their families to be in attendance.
A group of student council members emailed Dr. Kincannon with their requests. The students were told why the district made these decisions.
Dr. Kincannon released a statement regarding the graduation:
“I appreciate how our high school class officers take their roles as leaders and representatives of their classmates seriously. My heart goes out to each of them and the entire Class of 2020. None of us could have imagined the kind of ending that this group of seniors would have. This is not my or anyone’s first choice for how we would like to celebrate their accomplishments.
Based on the state’s guidance for school districts, holding graduation on a later date would not change the options that are available. Our decision to host graduation ceremonies at the stadium on May 29 and 30 is intended to honor our students at the first available opportunity.
School districts have a requirement to screen everyone coming in for signs that they could have the virus, as well as all of the seniors. This creates an additional challenge beyond our concern regarding our ability to safely maintain social distancing at the limited number of entrances/exits at the stadium.
To ensure that our students have a special memory with their families, individual time slots will be provided for each graduate and their family to pick up their diploma at their campus and have a professional photograph taken in their caps and gowns.
While a traditional graduation ceremony is not planned, it’s our hope that we can still create a special moment and memory for our graduates.”
— KWTX 10