In addition to the traditional cap and gown, Concord High School’s graduates may be donning a unique piece of paraphernalia at their commencement ceremony in June: personalized Class of 2020 face masks.
Concord School District officials are in the process of planning an in-person, outdoor graduation ceremony for the class of 2020 on June 13 pending approval from the governor and state education commissioner Frank Edelblut, Interim Superintendent Frank Bass said.
The face masks, which would be presented to every member of the graduating class, are one of a laundry list of precautions the district will be taking to maximize student safety, Bass said.
“We actually measured out Memorial Field with a tape measure, so we feel very comfortable that we can put a six-foot cubicle around every kid and every parent,” Bass said at a Concord School Board meeting Monday night.
Bass said he and other district officials planned a graduation ceremony where students will be separated by their “commons,” which are large clusters of students grouped together for guidance, student support and other resources.
“If we get permission, we’ll do it in three phases,” Bass said. “It’s going to be a long day, but we’ll have Commons A, Commons B, and Commons C separated by about 4 hours. We came up with some really creative ways in which we can have the band playing and have the chorus playing. Senator Shaheen will be giving us a congratulatory message, which we are going to put on the big board. We’ll also have some guest speakers.”
Bass said the administrative team is still coming up with ideas for a system to get students and families on Memorial Field without herding together.
“We’re in the process of figuring that out: Getting them in and getting them out in an orderly way whereby they are not in contact with one another,” he said.
Bass said he’s still in conversations with the governor’s office and waiting for the final OK.
“I’m 99% there, I’m still waiting,” Bass told the board. “We know we can do it, it’s just now a question of whether or not we’re going to get permission from the governor and the commissioner to be able to do that.”
He said he hopes to hear back soon.
“I’ll keep pressuring everyone to understand that we will be able to follow the social distancing rules, and so as long as we can prove that to them, I’m pretty hopeful that the governor is going to say, ‘okay,’ Bass said. “We’re in his backyard too, so maybe that will help.”
Bass said the district can wait until about May 15 to hear back from the state about whether or not it will be able to hold an in-person ceremony for planning purposes.
“After that will have to go to plan B,” he said.