Spokane schools aim to give seniors graduation pomp despite unusual circumstances

For the seniors in Spokane Public Schools, graduation is a virtual certainty.

The details haven’t been finalized, but district staff and board members agreed in principle that the class of 2020 will have its pomp under unusual circumstances.

Most likely, two months from now, the seniors will be grasping a laptop instead of a diploma, which likely will be sent to their mailbox.

Likewise, yearbooks will never see a high school hallway, where seniors traditionally exchange heartfelt messages on a special page.

Wednesday’s school board meeting also was an online affair, but all seemed to feel the pain.

“This is such a difficult time for us and such a tough conversation around our senior students,” said Shawn Jordan, the district’s director of secondary schools, told the school board Wednesday night.

The district’s high school principals believe that “we needed to make a decision to do something,” Jordan said.

“I couldn’t even imagine what’s going on for our seniors and our families,” Jordan said.

Faced with building closures through the end of the year, Spokane and other districts appear to have two choices: delaying commencement in hopes of holding a traditional ceremony this summer, or going virtual.

Board members appeared to favor the latter.

“I think online seems the most reasonable and the safest,” director Nikki Lockwood said. “Hopefully, we can reach every child who doesn’t have a laptop.”

Director Jenny Slagle said, “This is the most practical approach right now.”

It’s unclear what commencement will look like, from either side of the laptop.

Superintendent Shelley Redinger, who met with her student advisory board on Tuesday, hoped to employ KSPS public television in some capacity.

Also floated was the idea of students walking individually into their high school gym to receive a diploma or some kind of recognition.

No matter what form it takes, Jordan said, it’s important to “honor and celebrate our students who have completed their K-12 experience. We want to continue to do that in some way.”

Jordan said staff will continue planning “and get information out to families.”

Board President Jerrall Haynes put a cap on the conversation by talking about a high school student he recently met.

“Once he couldn’t imagine making it to this day,” Haynes said. “So I would advocate for going as big as we possibly can.”