It will start with cars — one for each member of the Class of 2020 and three guests.
They will line up at Wayne Community College and at 8:20 p.m. (20:20 military time) the procession will leave the campus and make its way toward Berkeley Mall.
Friends, family members and local residents will line the streets from New Hope Road to Berkeley Boulevard — holding signs, cheering, throwing confetti and holding balloons in front of the Maxwell Center on Wayne Memorial Drive, along the greenway running the length of New Hope and on the sidewalk along Berkeley.
And when the students arrive in the Sears parking lot at the mall, a live graduation ceremony will begin.
Two Jumbotrons will broadcast speeches from school officials and student speakers. Choruses and bands will be able to use Zoom to perform for the graduates as well.
Then, six at a time, students will be called on to exit their vehicles and walk across the stage to grab his or her diploma.
Social distancing measures will be adhered to — each of the six students will be no less than eight feet away from those young men and women in front and behind them.
No, it won’t be a traditional graduation, but WCPS Dr. Michael Dunsmore said it’s the best the district can do, given the limitations put into place by Gov. Roy Cooper.
Some hoped that school officials would wait out the phased reopening of the state — that perhaps, traditional ceremonies at individual schools could be held later this summer.
But Dunsmore said that given the fact that some graduates will leave for the military in late July — and others will likely head off to college a few weeks later — he did not want to risk losing their presence at the celebration.
Then, add in the fact that traditional schools are expected to begin Aug. 17, and the prospect of holding ceremonies late this summer looked even less feasible.
“It’s May 18 and we’re getting to the point that if we don’t have a plan ready to roll, we’re not doing to be able to do what we need to do,” he said. “North Carolina school districts are bound to the governor’s order. At some point, we have to roll over.”
Each graduate will also receive a special cord from the district. It will be gray and teal. The gray is meant to symbolize all the students have missed out on due to COVID-19. The teal reflects how they stood up to — and overcame — the adversity.
Ken Derksen, who was charged with leading to effort to ensure graduations would happen, said the district was determined to give the students as normal an experience as possible, given the restrictions put into place by the governor.
“We believe our students have experienced enough online activities as a result of COVID-19,” he said. “Holding our events in the physical manner in which we are planning will allow all seniors and their families to attend the same live ceremony together, and will give graduates the opportunity to watch each other collectively walk across the stage.”
The following dates have been released for the ceremonies:
• Charles B. Aycock, June 18
• Eastern Wayne High School, June 17
• Goldsboro High School, June 10
• Rosewood High School, June 11
• Southern Wayne High School, June 16
• Spring Creek High School, June 15
• Wayne Early/Middle College High School, June 8
• Wayne School of Engineering, June 9
