With high school graduation inching ever closer, school administration members are trying to finalize plans for what that process will look like with social distancing procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Petal High School graduation will be held May 18 at the high school football field, depending on the weather. All graduates will receive an opportunity to be recognized on stage, and family members will be allowed to attend with their children.
Two vehicles per family will be allowed, and each will receive numbered hang tags. Each graduate will receive the opportunity for a brief video with a school district staff member who is influential to them and photos with a professional photographer. The event also will be streamed via the school district’s YouTube channel for those who are unable to attend.
The Lamar County School District will hold an alternate graduation plan for its four high schools – Oak Grove, Purvis, Sumrall and Lumberton – that was recently approved by the district’s board. The district will contract with a videographer to create an individualized graduation video for each high school, and the graduation “ceremony” will take place at each respective school.
Graduates are allowed to arrive with four guests, on set dates and at set times, in order to participate in the segmented graduation ceremony. Forehead temperature scans will be taken at the entrance, and any guests who arrive after the graduate enters the building will not be allowed inside.
The final video will include all graduates who wish to participate. Participation is not required. Caps, gowns and accessories are being distributed this week, with the segmented ceremonies taking place the week of May 18.
Forrest County School District officials have been in contact with seniors to get their input on how the postponed graduation should commence, and although many are in favor of some type of ceremony, that final decision has yet to be made. A date may be set by the first of next week.
“We’re trying to plan something,” superintendent Brian Freeman said. “But as of right now, it’s still postponed until we do it. But I’m thinking next week we’ll have an idea. When decided, that information will be posted to the district’s social media and website.”
Because the usual graduation location of Reed Green Coliseum will not be available, officials from the Hattiesburg Public School District are tentatively planning to move commencement ceremonies – which are currently scheduled for May 22 – to an outdoor site and to livestream the event. If a community gathering is deemed unsafe at that time, officials will explore the option of hosting the ceremony virtually.
Ashley Jackson, communications and engagement coordinator for the district, said plans would be finalized soon.
Officials from Forrest County Agricultural High School sent a survey to all the school’s seniors, and the majority responded that they would prefer to continue with a traditional ceremony. Three plans have been put into place, depending on what restrictions are still in place at that time.
In Plan A, graduation will be held at 5:30 p.m. on June 22 at the Forrest County Multipurpose Center. All safety guidelines will be implemented including social distancing, limited guests, and masks.
Plan B would entail a drive-in graduation on June 22, with each senior being assigned an appointed time to come to school to receive their diploma and have photos taken with the administration while adhering to all safety guidelines. A video will be produced and made available for graduating seniors.
If a student is unavailable to participate in Plan A or Plan B, the student may on an individual basis contact the school to schedule a time to receive a diploma.
In addition, a senior parade will be held at 5 p.m. May 14 on the FCAHS campus. Seniors are allowed one vehicle, which should be decorated with the senior’s name.
All seniors will line up their vehicles at the Brooklyn Fire Department and follow the parade round. Parents may watch the parade by lining up along Old Highway 49, but must practice social distance procedures.
