Another Pierce County school district announces in-person graduation ceremonies
The coronavirus pandemic won’t stop this year’s Puyallup School District senior class from its traditional graduation ceremony at the Washington State Fairgrounds.
“It’s such a special event, we needed to figure out how to make this work,” Communications director Sarah Gillespie said Tuesday.
Here are the graduation dates by school:
Emerald Ridge High School, June 12 at 1 p.m.
Puyallup Digital Learning, June 11 at 7:30 p.m.
Puyallup High School, June 12 at 5 p.m.
Rogers High School, June 12 at 9 a.m.
Walker High School, June 11 at 5:30 p.m.
The Puyallup School District said social distancing, and restricted capacity will be in effect.
“To maintain capacity restrictions, tickets will be limited to a certain amount per graduate, and ceremonies will be live streamed,” Gillespie said in a statement.
The Washington state Department of Health released guidelines for graduation ceremonies that Puyallup plans to adhere to, including:
All individuals must wear face coverings
Six feet apart from people from other households
Students must be seated at least six feet apart while seated, queuing or crossing the stage
Hands cannot be shaken and should be sanitized often
The district will not be reserving sections for vaccinated attendees at graduation ceremonies, per May 3 state guidance, Gillispie said.
“Logistically, it would be an incredible challenge for us to manage,” she told The Puyallup Herald.
Puyallup is not alone in its return to in-person graduation.
Bethel and Franklin Pierce districts are also holding its graduation ceremony at the fairgrounds. Tacoma Public Schools announced plans for all of its June graduation ceremonies to be held at Mount Tahoma High School’s outdoor stadium.
This story was originally published May 12, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
