One major American rite of passage is graduating from high school. Graduation forms the capstone to thirteen years of K-12 education and until recently provided the amount of education required to get a decent job and career. Today many students go on to an additional 2-year technical training course or to 4 years of university for a degree. But high school graduation is still considered a passage into adulthood. A transition that is marked with proms, class breakfasts, and senior class activities, not to mention the cap and gown procession.

The FJUHSD administrators have worked hard to offer multiple ways for each high school site to shift in-person celebrations in order to honor this year’s graduates through various safe physical and social media opportunities.  A virtual graduation at the end of May will be a central part of this, and each school site principal has combined the ideas of students, teachers, parents, and staff in order to convey their pride and excitement the Class of 2020 deserves.

All comprehensive, alternative, and continuation high schools delivered yard signs to graduating seniors, with Troy High School teachers delivering the signs to graduating Troy students around town. The graduation signs, including a few special Valedictorian and Salutatorian signs, now dot the communities of Fullerton, Buena Park and La Habra congratulating the graduates at home. Cap, gown, and yearbook distribution will be done via senior drive throughs with staff donning masks, keeping social distance spacing, and cheering graduates in their cars. In-person graduation ceremonies are tentatively scheduled for the first week of August.

Here are a few local graduates and their yard signs:

Congratulations to Daphne Pillon, Fullerton High School graduate!

Congratulations to Karen Villalobos, La Vista High School graduate!

Congratulations to Nathan Chong, Fullerton High School graduate!

Congratulations to Presley Popoff, Troy High School graduate!

Social media through Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook are ways Associated Student Bodies (ASBs) and student newspapers are keeping classmates up to date with end-of-the-year activities. You will see jumbotrons stationed close to the various school sites that will scroll students’ pictures with their names. Buena Park’s principal Sonje Berg let me know that the Buena Park HS seniors will receive a “swag bag” with Buena Park High School memorabilia along with their diploma to remind the graduates of their BP Coyote family as they move forward to college and career.

La Habra Principal Matthew Eeles is sharing a top 100 video highlighting Highlander achievers on the school’s website along with sending graduating students’ names and pictures to NBC 4 and Spectrum to be shown on air. Sunny Hills Principal Alan Whitten shared how students are working through Instagram to keep in touch with each other and putting as positive perspective on the situation as possible, which reflects the SH Lancer traditions.

All the schools have made sincere efforts to show how proud and excited they are to celebrate the Class of 2020. These students are experiencing a unique transition into their next educational or career phase, and although it may be frustrating and look very different, they and their families will know that their children’s teachers, support staff, and community are proud of their achievement and applaud their tenacity under disruption. Congratulations Class of 2020!

Grading

The FJUHSD Board held a special session on April 23 to approve an adjusted grading guideline for the last quarter of this unconventional academic year. All students will start with the grade they were receiving in each class on March 18 (the day that schools closed and distance learning started). A student will not get less than that grade and all “D” grades will be raised to a “C” grade for the final grading cycle. All “F” grades will be recorded on transcripts as a No Credit. A No Credit grade will not impact the GPAs for undergraduates, but students will be responsible for making up lost units. All students will have the ability to raise their grades during distance learning. Parents and students who feel that they are not able to accomplish this goal need to contact the teacher and their educational counselor to create a plan and see if summer school is an option.

The choice to maintain letter grades was done to preserve the GPAs of all students concerned about college entry. Parents and guardians should have already received a letter explaining the new temporary protocol. Any questions should be directed to the students’ principals.

The next FJUHSD Board meeting will be on June 2 at 6pm. To attend a teleconferenced meeting, click HERE and click on the link to join.