Lincoln High School Planning Commencement For Class of 2020

Despite the pandemic, the Ellwood City Area School District is working to give its class of 2020 graduates plenty of “pomp and circumstance.”

Administrators, including High School Principal Kirk Lape, have been brainstorming and coordinating a ceremony that will be as close to the real thing as possible in a way to honor each graduating senior.

“Our goal is to make commencement as close to normal as possible,” Lape said.

With that goal in mind, administrators plan to coordinate 10-minute time slots for each graduate to have the opportunity to take that coveted walk across the stage to receive their diploma. Graduates will be able to enter the auditorium front doors with their immediate family/friends (limit ten) and to walk down the aisle and across the stage while their name is read to receive their diploma. The graduate would be dressed in their cap and gown. Administrators are even considering allowing parents to hand their student that well-earned diploma as an added special touch. If the student received a scholarship, then the graduate would be recognized as well as the parents. Clarks Photography will be in attendance to capture the moment for the families, and the school hopes to have a videographer on site to record the recognition.

Administrators are also planning to have all the traditional and much-anticipated speeches from the Valedictorian and Sr. Class President and might even have a surprise feature via Zoom from the choir.

Lape said this will be just like the traditional commencement ceremony, with one exception: everyone can’t be in the auditorium together at the same time. And although, Lape would prefer a graduation scenario where everyone could be together, he believes this is an acceptable compromise that will allow the most student participation at this time based on social distancing regulations currently in place.

Some parents have taken to social media and school board meetings to request an in-person, all-together ceremony at Helling Stadium later this summer. Lape said he is not opposed to the idea, but wants to be certain that every graduate is recognized and included. He feels that that a more immediate ceremony will make that possible. He said after taking a survey of options, he discovered that at least 20 percent of the graduates would not be able to attend a ceremony in July or later summer because of either athletic or military commitments.

“If one kid cannot be present, it would not be fair,” he said.

He also said that should travel restrictions be lifted, families might take vacations. It is also questionable, according to Lape as to whether social distancing guidelines will be lifted or alleviated in time for such a ceremony.

School Superintendent Joseph Mancini supports the administration’s decision to plan the one-by-one, video recorded commencement ceremony. He said he also isn’t opposed to an all-together ceremony later this summer, but added that it’s hard to plan for that or count on that because of the uncertainty of social distancing guidelines and the liability of it. He said he would not want to plan or count solely on something that would later have to be canceled.

“We can’t continually disappoint these kids,” he said.

He said he feels that it is important to have an alternative in place and that what the administration is planning will be an acceptable solution that will allow for the recognition of all graduates.

Dates and times for the individual stage walks are yet to be determined as is a release date for an overall video of the ceremonies.