Delayed Graduation Provides District Greater Time to Prepare
By Darius Parakh
By Darius Parakh
Cutting short the senior class' school year by nearly three months, the novel coronavirus pandemic has forced both Pioneer's administration, as well as San José Unified School District, to shift the original timeline of senior graduation events drastically.
Originally scheduled to graduate on June 4 virtually, the district has pushed back the date to June 15 to give GradPro, the company hired to compile and create the senior's graduation ceremony, more time to produce the virtual commencement.
To Activities Director Michelle Mayhew, this delay was crucial in ensuring that all students were equally able to participate in the graduation, regardless of a school's speed in distributing commencement supplies.
"Not all schools were able to get their caps and gowns quickly, so to have the best quality virtual graduation, we decided to push back the graduation date to (June 15), as GradPro needs time to upload and generate the video," said Mayhew. "As of right now, we won't have any active student involvement. We are planning on holding a live event at a time where the CDC will allow students to gather in one area without specific regulations."
This delay comes after weeks of inter-school planning, which sprung from a district-wide leadership meeting in late March. The task force highlighted how the high schools could best finish the year off strong based on the united efforts of each school's student leadership.
Acting as one of Pioneer's representatives during the discussions, ASB President Kyle Kitagawa, 12, stressed the importance of preventing student anxiety in leadership's eyes.
"We're trying to do everything possible to alleviate the stress that we feel while stuck at home," said Kitagawa. "As such, the intra-district leadership meeting simply aimed to give multiple schools opinions on how we could proceed with graduation, prom, and diploma pick-ups."
Student Board Member Luiza Albuquerque, 12, attended the meeting with Kitagawa and spoke to the struggle that has plagued the district as the consistent delays caused by the pandemic continue to pile up.
"I feel that although it is unfortunate that we, seniors, aren't getting a proper goodbye from high school and the past four years of our lives, it's clear that the district is under a lot of stress and confusion on how to handle the whole COVID situation," said Albuquerque. "I think that all things considered, they're doing all they can to make sure we still feel special and celebrated while ending this chapter in our lives."
Originally scheduled to graduate on June 4 virtually, the district has pushed back the date to June 15 to give GradPro, the company hired to compile and create the senior's graduation ceremony, more time to produce the virtual commencement.
To Activities Director Michelle Mayhew, this delay was crucial in ensuring that all students were equally able to participate in the graduation, regardless of a school's speed in distributing commencement supplies.
"Not all schools were able to get their caps and gowns quickly, so to have the best quality virtual graduation, we decided to push back the graduation date to (June 15), as GradPro needs time to upload and generate the video," said Mayhew. "As of right now, we won't have any active student involvement. We are planning on holding a live event at a time where the CDC will allow students to gather in one area without specific regulations."
This delay comes after weeks of inter-school planning, which sprung from a district-wide leadership meeting in late March. The task force highlighted how the high schools could best finish the year off strong based on the united efforts of each school's student leadership.
Acting as one of Pioneer's representatives during the discussions, ASB President Kyle Kitagawa, 12, stressed the importance of preventing student anxiety in leadership's eyes.
"We're trying to do everything possible to alleviate the stress that we feel while stuck at home," said Kitagawa. "As such, the intra-district leadership meeting simply aimed to give multiple schools opinions on how we could proceed with graduation, prom, and diploma pick-ups."
Student Board Member Luiza Albuquerque, 12, attended the meeting with Kitagawa and spoke to the struggle that has plagued the district as the consistent delays caused by the pandemic continue to pile up.
"I feel that although it is unfortunate that we, seniors, aren't getting a proper goodbye from high school and the past four years of our lives, it's clear that the district is under a lot of stress and confusion on how to handle the whole COVID situation," said Albuquerque. "I think that all things considered, they're doing all they can to make sure we still feel special and celebrated while ending this chapter in our lives."