Fate Of Graduation Uncertain For High School Seniors In Fairfield

FAIRFIELD, CT — High school seniors in Fairfield may still get a graduation ceremony, despite the announcement last week that a car parade would replace the event due to concerns related to the coronavirus outbreak.

Superintendent Mike Cummings said Friday in a message to parents that the headmasters of Fairfield Warde and Fairfield Ludlowe high schools would review graduation options included in a memo to Connecticut superintendents from the state education and health departments.

The memo suggested having graduates and families line up in cars in front of a stage, with each student leaving their vehicle to receive a diploma; having the graduate remain in the car while a school official gives the student the diploma; and holding graduation virtually through Zoom. Cummings also said the school district could consider a more traditional ceremony in the summer or fall, but noted that under state order, gatherings are currently limited to five people or fewer. Gov. Ned Lamont said last week he was considering permitting graduations starting June 20.

As for Fairfield, Cummings said in an email that officials will have a better sense of how to proceed later in the week after the Warde and Ludlowe headmasters meet with community members. The headmasters Tuesday announced to the school board their plan for a massive caravan through town, with graduates riding in decorated cars. The idea was met with disappointment from some board members.

Mary Nardone, who is the parent of a Warde senior, referred to the parade as, “an easy solution to a complex problem.”

“I think we can do better than a parade,” she said.

Students who were surveyed said they would prefer an in-person ceremony later in the summer, but the headmasters said such an event would involve more than 2,500 people. The headmasters expressed concern about potentially having to cancel a traditional graduation, as well as putting students at risk of transmitting the virus, which is associated with more than 1,100 deaths in Fairfield County.

Nardone, who is a member of the headmaster’s graduation committee but was interviewed as an individual and not on the committee's behalf, said she believed it would be possible to safely hold a graduation in an outdoor venue with monitors present, and students wearing face masks and keeping 6 feet apart. Many of Nardone’s suggestions align with a statewide effort asking Lamont to universalize policies for graduation ceremonies in 2020. A petition for the undertaking had more than 3,400 signatures as of early Monday morning.

As for the state’s suggestion of a ceremony where graduates drive through in their cars, Nardone referred to the proposal as “a huge traffic jam” and “not the memory (students) want.”

“They want to be together one last time,” she said.