What will Clovis schools do about graduation ceremonies in the wake of coronavirus?

Fresno-area school officials have been looking for alternative ways to honor graduating seniors who are missing proms and traditional commencements in the wake of the coronavirus health crisis.

Fresno Unified Superintendent Bob Nelson on Monday will announce plans for alternative commencement ceremonies for the Class of 2020.

Clovis school leaders presented their two-part graduation plan on Friday during a live online chat.

Superintendent Eimear O’Farrell said Clovis schools are working on reserving a venue for a traditional ceremony, tentatively planned for mid-August.

“We have heard overwhelmingly from our students and our parents that the number one option would be to postpone our graduation ceremony, and we agree,” O’Farrell said. “Our ideal situation is to host our traditional graduation ceremonies in the end of May and June as we do every year. However, our Fresno County Department of Public Health has directed us that we would not be permitted to do so in our normal fashion.”

However, she also was careful to note the proposed August ceremony hinges on the “kinds of restrictions will be in place at that time.”

O’Farrell also noted that students joining the military after graduation would ship out before August. So, she said, the second part of the district’s plan involves staggered individual ceremonies for each senior at their respective high schools over seven days in May and June.

“We envision members of their immediate families will be able to attend and have a front-row seat to witness that special moment,” O’Farrell said.

Clovis schools will also take the unusual step of buying caps and gowns for all graduating seniors. Typically, students rent them.

“The good part of the plan is they will have their cap and gown and tassel so that when the normal traditional ceremony in August happens, they are ready to go,” O’Farrell said.

The Clovis plan comes amid urging from at least some parents who want schools to prepare for traditional ceremonies in June, if at all possible.

Speaking Wednesday at a Clovis School Board meeting, parent and teacher Joni Sumter asked trustees to hold on to the possibility of allowing graduating seniors to finish the school year on campus with a traditional commencement.

“What I am asking, and a lot of the community members are hoping, is that the rest of our school year and our class of 2020 (have the) opportunities to finish this year,” Sumter said.

And while the trustees on Wednesday left the door open to returning students to campus in late May, Trustee Steven Fogg said it’s unlikely.

“Until everyone has testing, we have to treat everyone as if they are possibly infected. It could be months to years. This is going to change all of us for years to decades,” Fogg said. “I don’t think even next year we’re going to have this solved. How do we live our lives with a virus we can’t control?”

The Education Lab is a local journalism initiative that highlights education issues critical to the advancement of the San Joaquin Valley. It is funded by donors. Learn about The Bee’s Education Lab on our website.