Shawnee Mission School District To Host In-Person Graduations

The Shawnee Mission School District will be hosting in-person graduations to celebrate the Class of 2020 in July. The district continues to follow guidance for large public gatherings from the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment and will be prepared to adjust plans to move to a virtual graduation, if necessary.

The schedule for graduations is as follows:

East - July 14th @ North 8 p.m.                    
South - July 14th @ South 8 p.m.
North - July 15th @ North 8 p.m.                  
West - July 15th @ South 8 p.m.      
Northwest - July 16th @ North 8 p.m.           
Arrowhead - July 16th @ South 6 p.m.
Horizons - July 16th @ South 8 p.m.

Given current health guidance, social distancing guidelines will be followed. For that reason, in-person graduations will be outside in the North and South stadiums.

In the case of either a significant change in public health guidance and/or inclement weather, virtual graduations would be implemented, and in-person graduations would not be held.

The district is still finalizing specific plans, but given the need for social distancing, here are some of the guidelines:

• Students will be on the field at the stadiums, arranged in socially-distanced fashion, six feet apart. This will likely mean that student seating will cover the entire field, with the exception of the stage. 
• The ceremony itself will be adjusted, in order to allow for social distancing and to minimize physical contact. 

This year’s graduations will be a ticketed event and the number of tickets available to each graduate’s family will be determined with social distance guidelines. Family groups will need to arrive and be seated together, and there will be a minimum six-foot distance between family groups. Once the stadium capacities are determined, the school district will share information on the number of tickets available for each graduate.

Please note, any individual considered in a high-risk category for COVID-19 will be discouraged from attending. As in previous years, the ceremonies will be live-streamed and available to watch on YouTube. 

The Shawnee Mission School District looks forward to celebrating the graduation of the Class of 2020 in July.