Following deliberations between the district and Johnston High School throughout the coronavirus pandemic, the class of 2020 will celebrate its commencement tonight, June 12, at North Woods.
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bernard DiLullo said that while everyone would prefer the usual ceremony at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Providence, the socially distanced event was Johnston’s best choice. He said the high school parking lot was briefly considered, but it doesn't have the appropriate capacity.
“It’s been mixed because many parents were hoping for a live ceremony,” DiLullo said of the reaction he’s heard to the plan. “In keeping with the governor’s orders and the Department of Health’s orders, we couldn’t do that at this point. Other parents thanked us for keeping their kids safe, for putting together the ceremony that we could put together and still remaining within the guidelines.”
The senior class and their families will meet at the high school around 6:30 p.m., at which point they will be lined up in the lot and depart for a parade. The Johnston Police and Fire departments will usher the procession down to North Woods, where cars will be funneled through and assigned to one of the few large screens that will be erected to project the ceremony.
DiLullo said the ceremony will be simulcast on YouTube, and audio will be available via both a sound system and an FM radio signal.
“Basically, all the speeches were recorded,” DiLullo said. “We had each graduate come to the high school to cross the auditorium stage, have their picture taken and all those pieces were put together in the video to present as a virtual graduation ceremony.”
DiLullo said that some of the maintenance staff will serve as parking attendants, both helping cars file into and out of the school’s parking lot and North Woods.
“We will line them up at the high school parking lot, kind of at the perimeter of the parking lot and the overflow within the parking lot, and then pulling them out systematically on to Atwood Avenue to process down to North Woods,” DiLullo said. “Once they get to North Woods, we will have parking attendants there that will tell them where to park so that they’re adequately facing the screens that are set up.”
DiLullo said that while the setup “pales in comparison” to the usual commencement, he said it will at least provide some proper closure for the class.
“I’m glad we were able to do it with everybody assembling as opposed to everybody sitting at their homes and watching it – but again, it’s not what I would have liked,” DiLullo said. “I would have liked to have the ceremony we traditionally have.”
Beyond graduation, DiLullo said summer courses will be held virtually, including high school and middle school summer school classes and the extended school year program. The School Committee was slated to appoint most of the teachers for those courses during its meeting Thursday night, which took place after press time.
DiLullo spoke with the Sun Rise on Tuesday, the day before Gov. Gina Raimondo and Rhode Island Department of Education Commissioner Angelica Infante-Green announced that the state plans to return to full, in-person classes this fall. The superintendent said Tuesday he believed there would be a “gradual reopening,” and RIDE said via a press release that it is working with the Department of Health to “develop a continuum of school-reopening scenarios” with safety in mind.
Raimondo also announced a statewide calendar, with school starting for all on Aug. 31, and replacing snow days with virtual learning.
“The entire Rhode Island education community stepped up to make distance learning happen on short notice this year, and for that we should be extremely proud,” Infante-Green said via the release. “We are working to develop a range of options to help schools open, make sure students learn, and safeguard their health and safety. By putting all our school systems on a common calendar, we will be able to provide the high levels of support and coordination we need no matter what the future brings.”
DiLullo said that Johnston and other school departments around the state have been impressed with teachers’ flexibility throughout the pandemic, coming right out of spring break to get ready for distance learning.
Those skills will prove useful, with the elimination of snow days, even as in-person learning returns.
“[They moved] to distance learning so quickly that they were able to pivot pretty quickly on developing lesson plans, on utilizing technology, on ensuring that students are engaged in what they were teaching, so that was a positive and I think that’s something that occurred statewide, and certainly educators should be congratulated for their ability to make that move so quickly,” DiLullo said.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here