Virtual graduation planned for this Midlands school district, as others shape plans
Seniors at Brookland-Cayce and Airport high schools in Lexington County will celebrate their graduations virtually, and each student will have an opportunity to stand on their graduation stage in their cap and gown.
Virtual graduation ceremonies for the two high schools will air online and on local television Saturday, June 6, the Lexington 2 school district announced this week.
Seniors at both schools have scheduled individual appointments to visit graduation stages set up at their school football stadiums early this month, the district said in a news release. Professional photographers will capture photos and videos of each student in front of the stage, dressed in cap and gown and holding their diploma cover, alongside their parents and the school principal.
“In a typical year, professional photos are taken only of individual graduates after they’ve crossed the stage, so this will be a special keepsake for district families,” the district said.
Each school’s valedictorian, salutatorian, principal, school district officials and other speakers will record brief speeches on video, which will air alongside all the graduation photos and videos in presentations for each school. Each senior will receive a commemorative program and a copy of their school’s graduation presentation.
Each school’s graduation presentation will last about an hour.
They will be broadcast together from 5-7 p.m. June 6 on WACH-Fox 57. They will also be available for streaming via STIRR, a free TV app. The presentations will be posted on the school district’s YouTube channel after they have aired.
The school district also is delivering Class of 2020 yard signs to seniors, and each will receive a graduating class T-shirt.
Other Midlands school districts are beginning to set their graduation plans, too, as the coronavirus pandemic has taken an emotional toll on South Carolina schools. Public schools have been closed since March, canceling major milestones including proms and traditional graduation ceremonies.
Batesburg-Leesville High School, another Lexington County school, announced this week it will hold an in-person graduation ceremony at its football stadium May 29. Attendance will be limited to two guests per graduate, and seating will be spaced several feet apart for both graduates and guests.
Swansea High School, also in Lexington County, will hold an in-person graduation at its football stadium June 5. It also will limit guests to two per graduate, plans to accommodate social distancing guidelines and plans to livestream the ceremony online for friends and family who are unable to attend, the school district said.
Kershaw County high schools — North Central, Camden and Lugoff-Elgin — have made similar plans for holding in-person graduations at their football stadiums on May 29 and 30. Their ceremonies will include a two-guest limit, 6-foot separation for seating, temperature checks for each attendee and online livestreaming.
Richland 2 has tentatively reserved Colonial Life Arena for graduations Aug. 5 and 6, but those plans are considered a last resort in case the district’s five schools are unable to hold graduations earlier. The district has not yet announced any other graduation plans.
Other Midlands school districts — including the area’s largest, Richland 1, Lexington 1 and Richland-Lexington 5 — also have not yet announced graduation plans.
This story was originally published May 1, 2020 at 11:06 AM.
