The Sheridan School District is pleased to announce plans for the 2020 Sheridan High School graduation and prom.
“Graduation and prom are two very special traditions in our community,” said Sheridan Superintendent Jerrod Williams. “We are doing our best to honor these traditions for our seniors who have missed out on many memories this year due to the school closure.”
The Class of 2020 graduation ceremony will be held Sunday, July 26 at 2:30 p.m. at the Yellowjacket Arena. Due to limited seating, the high school will issue an allotted number of guest tickets per student. All guests must have a ticket to be admitted. Seniors will be required to register in advance so that the district can determine how many tickets to distribute to each graduate. The ceremony will be live-streamed for remote guests.
Plans for graduation are subject to change based on COVID-19 guidelines. However, the date for graduation will remain the same. “Should we not be able to host the ceremony as planned due to gathering restrictions at that time, we will adjust as necessary to keep us from having to postpone again. Depending on the restrictions, that could involve reducing the number of guests allowed at the ceremony or holding a virtual graduation instead,” said Williams.
Prom will be held July 25, from 8 - 11 p.m. in the Sheridan High School cafeteria. Students must register in advance, but payment will be accepted at the door. Admission will be $10 per person. These plans are also subject to change based on COVID-19 guidelines. If large gatherings are still restricted by July 25, prom will be canceled and not rescheduled.
According to Sheridan High School Principal Jason Burks, the school district developed the plans for graduation and prom based on feedback from students and their parents.
“I would like to thank everyone who responded to our prom and graduation surveys,” said Burks. “The feedback was extremely helpful to us as we made the decision to reschedule these two events.”
The school district conducted two online surveys in April to gather feedback from students and their parents about their thoughts on rescheduling prom and graduation. On the graduation survey nearly 80 percent of respondents reported they would prefer the district to hold a traditional ceremony over the summer rather than a virtual graduation in May. On the prom survey nearly 71 percent of seniors and juniors reported that the district should reschedule prom for a date over the summer rather than canceling the event.
“We hope by rescheduling these events, we are able to provide an appropriate sense of closure and celebration for our students whose senior year has been cut short,” said Burks. “We are proud of them and want to recognize their hard work and dedication.
“Since we will not be able to celebrate as a group on May 22, the original date for graduation, district staff will go to homes on May 21 and May 22 to personally congratulate and deliver a graduation gift to each of the 293 Sheridan High School graduates,” said Burks.