Hamilton County schools to hold in-person graduations despite virus

Hamilton County high school seniors will finally get to walk across the stage later this month - sort of.

All of the county's 17 high schools are planning to hold live, in-person graduation ceremonies between June 25 and June 27, according to a finalized schedule released by Hamilton County Schools this week.

Most of the ceremonies will be held in the schools' own football stadiums with social distancing and safety protocols such as a limited number of attendees in place due to the ongoing spread of COVID-19.

"We looked at a number of options and came to the conclusion that high school stadiums or other outdoor stadiums would be the most viable option," said Justin Robertson, chief operations officer for the district. "The [Tennessee] Department of Education sent out some guidance for graduations and we are using their guidance, along with the CDC and local health department guidance and we are making sure that we are working within that framework."

As schools across the nation closed due to the spread of the coronavirus this past spring, members of the class of 2020 saw many of the much-anticipated milestones of their last year in high school slip away.

Proms were canceled, final spring sport seasons missed, last days of school were spent online and many weren't sure if they would be able to celebrate graduation in person. Some communities have still tried to celebrate seniors by hosting events like drive-thru celebrations and parades or posting senior spotlights on social media.

"I think the biggest thing just for our class in general is we are scared of missing out on the milestones," one high school senior, Olivia Stewart from East Hamilton School, told the Times Free Press in April. "We attended our last day of high school and [didn't] know it," she said.

Some are unhappy with the restrictions the district is imposing on ceremonies this year, though - most of all, the four guest per graduate limit.

Schools will provide tickets for each graduate, and their four guests are expected to sit together, six feet apart from other guest groups, per social distancing guidelines. Though some schools have had to limit attendees in the past depending on the venue used for commencement ceremonies, most have not.

Even with attendance limited, some of the district's largest schools like Ooltewah High School with a graduating class of more than 350 students will likely have more than 1,000 people present at the ceremony.

Guests are encouraged to wear face masks and bring hand sanitizer and their own water since concession stands won't be open. When students walk across the stage, they won't shake hands and even administrators and school staff's presence will be limited to essential personnel.Robertson acknowledged that the situation isn't ideal, but instead is like a compromise.

"Our intent is to celebrate the class of 2020. A lot of other districts have moved to virtual or drive-thru ceremonies. We know it is not ideal, but it allows us to celebrate those graduates and do it in a way that maintains everyone's health and safety," he said.

Initially, the district had released two possible schedules for ceremonies in June or July and considered using its typical venues like the Tivoli Theatre, Memorial Auditorium and McKenzie Arena, but as positive cases of COVID-19 continue to increase in the area and students begin to prepare for college or the military, district officials decided open-air June ceremonies were the best scenario.

Officials at Cleveland High School in neighboring Bradley County came under fire last month when the school announced it would hold its May 15 graduation as planned. Some argued that the ceremony was happening too soon as the state only just began reopening and others pushed back against the plan to separate the senior class into two ceremonies.

Eventually, the school relented and rescheduled one, joint ceremony to June 12 at the school's Raider Arena.

(READ MORE: Cleveland, Tennessee, appears on New York Times list of emerging COVID-19 hotspots)

For more information and to view the complete schedule of commencement ceremonies, visit bit.ly/hamcograd.

Contact Meghan Mangrum at mmangrum@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6592. Follow her on Twitter @memangrum.