Upcoming Merced County high school graduations will be much different, due to COVID-19
The seven schools in the Merced Union High School District are scheduled to hold alternate graduation ceremonies next week.
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, those ceremonies will be different from anything the district has done before.
The Merced County Public Healthy Department has discouraged traditional, in-person graduation ceremonies to keep large groups of people from gathering to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.
This year each student will arrive at a diploma presentation area in a vehicle. There, each senior will exit the vehicle, walk across a “stage” and receive his or her diploma from the site principal.
A photographer will take a photo of the graduate with the principal. Most schools will hold graduation ceremonies on Wednesday and Thursday.
Additional guidelines for the ceremonies include:
1). Seniors will arrive in groups at predetermined times to help alleviate traffic congestion and prevent traffic from spilling onto the city streets.
2). Seniors are to arrive in their cap and gown. Vehicle decoration is highly encouraged.
Other schools, like Denair High School in Stanislaus County, have recently held similar drive-thru type graduation ceremonies. “The faculty will line up along the exit way to create parade-like atmosphere,” said district spokesperson Sam Yniguez. “Social distancing guidelines will be followed.”
Different options considered
According to Yniguez, the district decided on the alternate graduation ceremony setup after consulting with groups of seniors at different schools.
The students made clear to the district they weren’t interested in a virtual graduation.
The district had proposed smaller groups for in-person graduation ceremonies, but those proposals were not given the OK by the Merced County Public Health Department.
Last week Stone Ridge Christian held an in-person graduation ceremony with approximately 200 people in attendance.
After that graduation happened, Merced County Health Officer Dr. Salvador Sandoval said the health department’s recommendation for in-person graduation ceremonies is having up to 20 students at one time with two to three family members each.
Many Merced County high schools have graduation classes surpassing 400 students.
Sandoval said they’ve recommended the drive-thru graduation ceremonies for Merced County high schools, and that’s the setup MUHSD administrators agreed to.
“We were told no in-person, traditional ceremonies would be allowed in June and July,” Yniguez said.
The district hopes they may be able to hold traditional ceremonies in August — if given the OK by the public health department, according to Yniguez.
“We’re trying to keep some traditions alive like still handing out tickets for graduation, producing a program, we’re going to run the graduation speeches on a screen,” said Buhach Colony principal Jennifer Euker.
“During out two days of ceremonies our whole staff will be there. Our students will get to see them and our staff will get to see the see the seniors in their cap and gowns.”
Euker says each school is trying to make this event special for the kids.
“We’re all trying to navigate through this the best we can,” she said. “We want to celebrate the graduates.”
Graduation schedule for next week
El Capitan: Wednesday and Thursday from 4-8:30 p.m.. (Vehicles enter on Barclay, out on Farmland).
Merced: Wednesday and Thursday from 4-8 p.m. (Near new gym)
Golden Valley: Wednesday and Thursdayfrom 4-8 p.m. (Near pool)
Yosemite: Wednesday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. (Vehicles enter on 18th St, out on 20th St)
Merced Adult School: Friday, starts at 10 a.m. ( Same pattern as Yosemite)
Atwater: Wednesday and Thursday from 5-9 p.m. (Student pictures in front of entry arch)
Buhach Colony: Wednesday and Thursday 4-9 p.m. (Stage will be set up in football field)
Livingston: Thursday only from 3:30-8: p.m. (Between 800 wing and new gym)
This story was originally published May 30, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Upcoming Merced County high school graduations will be much different, due to COVID-19."
