CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Kanawha County Board of Education has a special meeting set for Wednesday afternoon to discuss possible options for high school graduation ceremonies.
A firestorm was created with the school system’s announcement back on Friday that he had cancelled plans to hold a one day ceremony for all eight high schools at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center.
The least desirable option is the virtual graduation which is what the board’s Friday announcement promised. Superintendent Ron Duerring said school leaders made the decision based on recommendations and advice from state and county health officials. They worried social distancing would be a serious problem.
“The perfect scenario would have been graduation with everybody in the room and the last scenario would have been virtual graduation. We knew, unfortunately, that was always an option,” said Kanawha Board of Education member Tracy White said Monday on 580 WCHS Radio’s 580 Live show.
The agenda is available at, titled “6-10-20 Board Meeting”: https://t.co/qwzovXzZrR.
— Kanawha County (@KCBOE) June 8, 2020
White’s hopeful a few other options can be discussed at Wednesday’s meeting.
“There’s places where it could absolutely be done. We’ve all received hundreds of ideas. Our hope is Wednesday we can continue to have these conversations so that hopefully our principals will be able to leave that meeting knowing where to go from here,” she said.
A large number of people have suggested Laidley Field as a potential place where the ceremony could be done outside and students and spectators could socially distance. Other outdoor venues are also possibilities, Charleston Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin, who has a graduating senior, said.
“There are opportunities to do things at Laidley and space those kids out or maybe Appalachian Power Park or possibly on the (Kanawha) Boulevard–which by the way is closed down every Sunday,” Goodwin said.
Several schools have already taken steps to recognize the class of 2020 in several creative ways. However, White knows nothing replaces a traditional cap and gown ceremony.
“Most of our schools have done something, which is great, but we all as a board, public, as a parent, and as a teacher we all hoped they would be able to have that final ceremony,” White said.
White and members of the board along with Mayor Goodwin and Kanawha County Commissioner Ben Salango have all pledged to look at suitable alternatives because of the strong desire for the ceremony.