Suffolk Graduation Ceremonies: What You Need To Know

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — High school graduations will no longer be derailed due to the coronavirus, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who announced this weekend that as of June 26, graduations of 150 people or less can be held in New York State.

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said Monday that he has worked with the Suffolk County School Superintendents Association to come up with a plan to allow graduations to move forward safely.

"This is an extraordinarily special moment in the lives of students, parents, and families," Bellone said. "If we can do it and do it safely, it's an important thing for us to do."

The new state guidelines of 150 people, Bellone said, might work well in many areas, but on Long Island, that number could prove a challenge due to size and density. He has reached out to New York State to allow for "flexibility," and said the county would work with the health department to put forward a plan that addresses larger-sized groups, with safety always first and foremost.

Graduating seniors, he said, have missed out on proms, sports and academic awards and the last moments with their friends. "It's all devastating and emotional," he said. "If we can do this, and if we can get some more flexibility, that's a great thing," Bellone said.

Bellone also released a template of Suffolk's current graduation plan, sent to Cuomo for approval. The idea, he said, would be that once the template is approved, schools can submit their own variation of the template to the Suffolk County Department of Health Services for approval. Upon approval by the governor’s office, schools can use the template, with any variation requiring authorization by county health department.

Location protocol

• Outside graduation ceremony should be held in a large open area. Graduating students
will be seated in cohorts of 10, spaced six feet apart side to side, front to back. Each
cohort will be spaced 10 yards from any other cohort.

• Two or more podiums will be utilized for graduation speakers. Ideally each speaker will
have his or her own podium (although a podium and microphone could be cleaned while
another podium is being used).

• Administrators, teachers and special guests will be seated six feet apart from one another.
A location with seats further apart and at a greater distance away than other seats for
administrators and teachers will be available for those who have underlying medical
conditions or personal concerns.

Diploma protocol

• The diploma ceremony will only include one cohort at a time with individuals
sufficiently spaced from one another so that they could remove their mask as they
approach the location from where he or she will be getting their diploma. Diplomas will
not be given to students hand to hand, but offered on a table situated in front of plexiglass,
or some barrier between the diploma table and school administrators.

• Blank diplomas are recommended so that a student does not need to try to find their own
diploma. Ideally, blank diplomas will be placed in a box from which students can take
diplomas so that any possible contamination will have expired prior to graduation day.

• A live feed or video camera may be set up behind a plexiglass barrier near the diploma
table at which time the student can wave into the camera and/or say something to family
and friends (it may make sense to have a 10-second delay on the live feed).

• After retrieving their diploma, students will be able to continue without face coverings as they approach a photographer who is wearing a protective face covering and more than
six feet from each student as photos are taken. Students will then replace masks and proceed back to their seats.

Attendance protocol

• Guests must be limited to seating in bleachers or chairs sufficiently distanced from
graduating students (10 yards or more). Guests who have been quarantined together may
sit next to one another, but must remain six or more feet away from other guests and wear
face coverings throughout the entire ceremony. Ideally, the entire ceremony will be
recorded to be shared with family and friends.

• Upon the conclusion of the ceremony, the students will leave the field, one "cohort"
at a time, with school security present and a prior commitment by graduating students to
maintain proper social distancing as they leave the school premises.

“Suffolk students and their families deserve the chance to have live high school graduations. That’s why, last month, I began working with the Suffolk County School Superintendents Association to develop a plan,” said Bellone. “I believe that we can do this safely and therefore we should do this because this is truly one of life’s special moments for students and parents. The state has said they will be revisiting the issue and we urge them to do so as quickly as possible.”

Numbers decline

A total of 48 new cases of coronavirus cases were reported Monday. In total, there are 15,757 positive antibody tests reported, Bellone said.

Hospitalizations continue to decline countywide "at a good clip," he said; as of the June 6 numbers, that number has decreased by 21, to 158 hospitalized in Suffolk; there are currently 50 patients in ICU beds.

Hospital capacity stands at 3,015, with 1,135 beds available, or 63 percent; there are 576 ICU beds in the county, with 252 available, or 56 percent, Bellone said. A total of 26 patients went home in the last 24 hours.

And four additional lives were lost to coronavirus, bringing the death toll in Suffolk County to 1,935.