Schools

BCPS Virtual Graduation Celebrations Planned For Class Of 2020

High school seniors will have online graduation ceremonies, after a vote Tuesday night by the Baltimore County Board of Education.

Baltimore County Public Schools will have virtual graduation ceremonies in June, after a $100,000 contract was approved at the school board meeting Tuesday, May 5.
Baltimore County Public Schools will have virtual graduation ceremonies in June, after a $100,000 contract was approved at the school board meeting Tuesday, May 5. (Shutterstock)

BALTIMORE COUNTY, MD — Graduation ceremonies for seniors in Baltimore County Public Schools will be held online, after the school board Tuesday night approved a contract for virtual graduations. The celebrations will take place sometime in June, according to the superintendent.

Three people voted against the contract, including the student board member, Omer Reshid, who said a survey of his peers found that of more than 6,000 respondents, fewer than 6 percent were interested in a virtual graduation. He asked whether students would be able to do drive-thru graduations or some other type of in-person graduations, to which administrators gave responses such as they were "leaving the door open" to possibilities.

"This was an option, and we were also going to explore opportunities for in person when we could provide such opportunities based on the circumstances," Superintendent Darryl Williams said, noting he had looked to other jurisdictions as well as colleges for guidance. Williams noted he had seniors graduating from both high school and college this year so was sensitive to the issue.

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In addition to Reshid, school board members Lisa Mack and Rodney McMillion voted against the virtual graduation contract.

"If that majority of people ... are not interested, maybe we [should] not spend this money and look at something, you know, when things open up," McMillion said.

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Gatherings of more than 10 people are currently prohibited in Maryland, by order of the governor, to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus.

"We don't know what will happen," Williams said, as far as when restrictions may be lifted, and what that would look like. Even if restrictions eased in the next six to 12 months, officials said they would still have to think about excluding parents and loved ones from attending ceremonies, since senior classes range from 200 to 550 students and would require staff to oversee the events.

The $100,000 virtual graduation contract was awarded to Herff Jones LLC of Indianapolis, which administrators said had a previous relationship with the school system as the provider of items like caps and gowns. Since the timeline was limited, officials said the project was not put out for a bid in the usual manner.

For the price, each school will be able to submit 60 minutes of content such as speeches and performances, in addition to images of students and mascots. All schools will have a theme that runs throughout, unifying the school system, consistent with in-person ceremonies.

A virtual graduation is roughly half the cost of traditional graduations, board members noted, wanting to ensure there may be the possibility of celebrating in person.

Executive Director of BCPS Fiscal Services George Sarris said that the school system would still "have the resources to pursue additional options."

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After the contract was approved, Board Chair Kathleen Causey said the intent was to ensure for seniors that "whatever is planned becomes very festive and engaging, and they'll look back and say, 'That was excellent.'"

Also at Tuesday's school board meeting, leaders announced the last day of school for seniors will be May 29 instead of May 22, so students have time to complete all necessary work and staff can input grades.

"This spring, our graduations for the class of 2020 will be held online. We will explore potential face-to-face celebrations when it is safe to do so in accordance with the Governor's orders," said a statement issued Tuesday night by Baltimore County Public Schools. "Once finalized, the revised graduation schedule will be posted on the BCPS website."

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