Reeves urges caution for graduations, but Bay High is thinking big with ‘Jeepers’
With school buildings closed during graduation season, South Mississippi high schools are looking for alternate ways to honor seniors during the new coronavirus pandemic.
Gulfport, George County and Bay high schools have scheduled graduation events that allow for some level of social distancing. They allow some family members to watch students receive diplomas and allow students to have cap-and-gown photos taken.
But Bay High has the most elaborate plan so far, allowing for its 127 graduates and their parents to ride in Jeeps to watch speeches from the stadium parking lot, drive past a stand to get a diploma and professional photo, then parade past tents on U.S. 90 holding up to 10 friends and family members for each graduate.
Long Beach and Pass Christian have decided to postpone ceremonies, hoping they can hold traditional graduations in June.
With some schools still weighing their options, Gov. Tate Reeves said Monday he hopes school officials will be cautious while planning events.
“I think we need to look at it on a week-by-week basis,” he said. “I think there is an argument that can be made that graduations don’t have to happen in May. We can delay them until June or July, when perhaps that may be a more safe opportunity depending on what the virus does during the summer months.
When asked what he recommended for schools planning drive-in events, he said if he were running a school district he would try to be patient and look into doing the ceremony online.
“We do not need large groups gathering and touching individuals. That’s the challenge.”
He said emotional events like graduations, weddings and funerals, it’s even harder to practice social distancing.
“In Mississippi, we like to hug each other. When you have emotional ceremonies, even if you’re trying to experience social distancing, we screw it up and we’re just not able to do it. That’s why it’s best to not have large groups coming together.”
Graduation plans in Bay St. Louis
Bay High School has the largest production on the calendar with a graduation parade set for May 22.
After classes were first suspended in the middle of the March, Bay High Principal Amy Coyne and other school district officials started talking about finding a less traditional option for ceremonies.
Once the plan for a parade came into place, they reached out to city officials and law enforcement to make sure it was doable.
“Thankfully, they said, ‘Yeah, we’ll do it.’” Coyne said. “They said they would help with whatever we needed. Both mayors and the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department were supportive.”
To begin the parade, 127 graduates will be picked up by “volunteer Jeepers” in the high school’s parking lot. The vehicles will then parade the graduate with their parents to the football stadium.
Once all the Jeeps are parked in the lot at the stadium, members of the administration, the valedictorian and salutatorian will give their addresses from the back of the stadium’s press box.
After speeches are complete, the students will be paraded to the Bay-Waveland School District viewing stand, where each graduate will receiver a diploma and be photographed. At that point, the students will be given a baseball cap to substitute for their traditional graduation cap so they can easily make it through the rest of the Jeep ride.
From there, Jeeps will travel west in the westbound lane of U.S. 90 with the eastbound lane being set up for two-way traffic. Along the parade route, each graduate will have a tent that will host up to 10 people. There will be four to five parking spaces available next to each tent.
As each graduate arrives at their assigned tent, friends and family will have a brief chance to celebrate and take photos.
For those that can’t make it to the graduation ceremonies, speeches and the awarding of the diploma will be streamed on Facebook.
While she acknowledges the situation is still fluid and there’s always the chance there will be changes to the plan, Coyne believes everything has fallen into place.
“I stood there in the football stadium parking lot and it had me super emotional,” she said. “It’s the best-case scenario in a horrible situation.”
Some South Mississippi high schools are still trying to figure out best way to commemorate the occasion, while others have begun to publish short profiles of each graduate on social media.
Other Coast high schools’ graduation plans
▪ Biloxi: Biloxi School District announced that graduation will be divided into about 9 sessions, with 40 students graduating per session on May 18, 19 and 20.
The ceremonies in the Biloxi High School Sports Arena, where the district says 40 families can be spaced out in the bleachers. Graduates will be spaced out in seating on the arena floor.
Each graduate can bring no more than 6 immediate family members. Students will walk the stage to get their diplomas. As graduates cross the stage, their image, scholarships, and awards will be displayed on a screen behind the stage but not announced. A professional videographer will film all sessions and compile them into a single ceremony that will be provided at no charge to all graduates.
At the conclusion of each session, graduates can go to the BHS courtyard to ring the bell, a tradition that BHS students have celebrated for many years (gloves and sanitizer will be available).
▪ Gulfport: At Gulfport High School, there are plans to individually photograph and videotape each graduate as they pick up their diploma.
During the week of May 11-15, each senior and up to four family members (parents or legal guardians) will go to Ray Bishop Auditorium, where each graduate will have a scheduled time to have a cap-and-gown picture taken. The senior will then make their way to the stage and take the walk to receive a diploma.
Each segment will be professionally edited and used in a longer video that will resemble a traditional ceremony. The video will be aired at 7 p.m. May 27 at AdmiralNation.com.
▪ George County: On May 21-22, George County High School will hold drive-thru ceremonies each night at 5 p.m.
Each graduate will be given two tickets and will be allowed two vehicles. Each vehicle will have to give a ticket to a police officer manning the entrance.
All occupants have to remain inside the vehicles after entering the school property. At the end of the route, there will be a graduation stage set up at the front of the school, where the two vehicles will stop. At that point, only the graduate will exit the vehicle and make their way across the stage to be handed a diploma and have a photo taken.
▪ Long Beach: After conducting a survey of seniors, Long Beach High School has postponed its graduation date until 7 p.m. June 26 at the school’s football stadium. Students were asked if they wanted to hold a non-traditional ceremony on the original date, May 20, but 78.9 percent of seniors voted to have ceremonies pushed back.
If a traditional graduation does not appear possible by June 15, a non-traditional ceremony will take place.
▪ Pass Christian: The graduation is now scheduled for 7 p.m. June 19 at the high school’s football stadium.
The school cautions that the date is contingent on state regulations and guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control.
▪ St. Stanislaus, St. Patrick, Our Lady Academy and Resurrection Catholic: All schools in the Catholic Diocese of Biloxi plan to move forward with traditional graduation plans, but that can easily change, according to superintendent of Catholic schools, Rhonda Clark.
“All five graduations will take place on their scheduled date,” she said in a statement. “We have contingency plans in place. However, the final decisions will not be made until closer to the graduation date so we can evaluate all relevant information and make decisions that are in the best interest of our students and their families.”
This story was originally published April 22, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
