The COVID-19 pandemic has altered life across North Texas for everyone, including high school seniors who cannot attend a traditional graduation.
The COVID-19 pandemic has altered life across North Texas for everyone, including high school seniors who cannot attend a traditional graduation.
But at International Leadership of Texas: Arlington-Grand Prairie High School, administrators did their best to celebrate their top achieving student’s accomplishments in spite of it all, by holding a parade.
“We just wanted to come up with a way to show them how much we appreciate them and really care about them,” Principal Quentyn Seamster said.
Among those on the side of the road was valedictorian Amanpreet Chahal, who became visibly emotional.
“I really liked it,” she said. “Despite it not being a typical year, we still did it, you should still be proud of your accomplishments.”
On Tuesday Gov. Greg Abbott announced state guidance for high school graduations, presenting four different options:
- Completely virtual ceremonies that take place entirely online, with the use of video conference or other technologies.
- Hybrid ceremonies, which consist of a compilation of videos of students being recognized in person as they celebrate graduation in small groups.
- Vehicle ceremonies, in which students and their families wait in their cars while other graduates are recognized one at a time with their families alongside them.
- Outdoor, in-person ceremonies, which are currently permitted for counties as follows: From May 15-31, an outdoor ceremony may take place in a rural county that has an attestation as described in the Governor’s Report to Open Texas that remains in effect seven days prior to the ceremony.
- An outdoor ceremony may take place in any Texas county on or after June 1.
