Photo: Lucerne Valley Unified Schoolhouse District

Lucerne Valley High School senior Matthew Redding picks up his gap and gown.

Photo: Lucerne Valley Unified Schoolhouse District

Lucerne Valley High School senior Matthew Redding picks upwards his gap and gown.

Many California high school seniors volition be tossing their grad caps up in the air via webcams this leap. But at Lucerne Valley Loftier in San Bernardino County's rural loftier desert, nearly 50 seniors, many of whom have gone to school together for 13 years, volition walk the stage in person at their commencement ceremony.

Some of the country's smallest districts, similar Lucerne Valley Loftier, are preparing to bring students back for in-person graduation ceremonies this leap, after Gov. Gavin Newsom on May xviii eased some of the restrictions for counties wishing to re-open businesses and other services at a faster pace than the rest of the country. So far 29 counties, many in rural Northern California, have been given the greenish light to reopen businesses.

The reopening of school campuses, yet, remains an ongoing contend beyond California. The diverseness in approaches has led to a disharmonism betwixt local control and sweeping plans to mitigate wellness risks, even if social distancing protocols are followed.

"I realized that I had experienced all my lasts, and I didn't even know it. The last fourth dimension I would present to the school lath or walk to the agriculture section, that striking really difficult," said Katelyn Miller, a senior at Lucerne Valley High who is a educatee representative on the schoolhouse lath. "Just the district has given me a lot of promise and something to look forward to at such an unpredictable time."

The graduation planned for May 29 won't look the same for Lucerne Valley Loftier every bit it has in prior years, and commune officials have put together a iii-tiered ready of back-upwardly plans if the situation changes and public health officials ban the ceremony.

Currently, the high school plans to hold a drive-in movie theater-fashion graduation. Families will watch from cars, each spaced at to the lowest degree 10 anxiety apart. "Pomp and Circumstance" will play equally seniors donning facemasks notice their seats on chairs spaced out in front of the guests. The podium will exist wiped downwards after each staff and pupil speech communication, and the sound will play through the radio to families in their cars.

"Nosotros are a really pocket-sized, family unit-oriented customs. The community has all agreed to adopt a senior and are making gift baskets for the kids," said Tom Courtney, board president for Lucerne Valley Unified, who has been to every graduation at Lucerne Valley High since its countdown class graduated in 1995. "We are resilient folks out hither."

As of May 20, there were 158 deaths related to the coronavirus in San Bernardino County and more than than three,700 confirmed cases. Just Courtney and other schoolhouse officials said they feel the take chances is low in their town. They also take back-up plans to keep students in cars if the county health department says no before graduation day.

On May 18, California released revised criteria that counties must see in order to loosen stay-at-home restrictions, such as hospital capacity and number of coronavirus cases. Whether a school wants to host an in-person graduation ceremony or take students render to campus is a local decision, co-ordinate to the California Department of Instruction.

Land Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond also recently launched a working group to explore how schools tin can safely bring students dorsum to campus. While reopening remains a local decision, Thurmond has stressed that almost schools will have to hold virtual graduation ceremonies this jump to go on the customs safe.

"We know it's tough on our students that cannot have traditional ceremonies because that's the just way to continue them safe. But nosotros are belongings virtual ceremonies across the state and across the country," Thurmond said at a press briefing terminal week. "Even though we can only celebrate you virtually, nothing can minimize the level of pride that nosotros feel about your accomplishments."

There are growing concerns nearly restarting California'south economy, including welcoming students back to campus for graduation. The number of cases varies by county, but many are nonetheless experiencing increases, co-ordinate to a Los Angeles Times tracker of COVID-19 cases throughout the state.

"This is an important catamenia of fourth dimension," Newsom said in a daily briefing on May eighteen. "Nosotros're moving into an of import few weeks ahead of the states and we're going to see a lot more than activity. Let'south just make sure we do it thoughtfully and strategically."

Sutter and Yuba counties were among the kickoff in the land to fully reopen some businesses despite the statewide stay-calm gild that is withal in identify.

In that location, some high schools have already brought students back on campus. Sutter Matrimony High School's 175 seniors came back at staggered times to meet with counselors for a health and wellness check, to pick up a senior T-shirt and to have an go out interview with the chief. School staff took students' temperatures on site and told students to stay home if they or anyone they had contacted was sick.

Sutter Union High officials are at present discussing ways to bring back students who are struggling with altitude learning, in detail with math, for individual or small-grouping tutoring sessions, said school principal Ryan Robison.

Many students struggling the most live in the southward edge of the district's purlieus where a steady cyberspace connexion is hard to come up by, Robison added.

"We however have to evangelize school work for those kids. That's my biggest challenge," he said. "And then we are trying to effigy that out then they can come dorsum."

Come graduation day, Sutter Marriage Loftier administrators plan to have seniors spaced out across their football game field in masks, with staff nearby disinfecting surfaces, such equally the microphone. While the event typically draws nigh 5,000 people, this year students are only immune 2 tickets each, and guests volition sit or stand up at least 6 feet apart.

Sutter, 1 of the counties given the OK to begin loosening stay-at-habitation restrictions, is dealing with an internal conflict. The schoolhouse'south plan doesn't comply with current Sutter County health recommendations because it would bring as well many people together. The district has several contingency plans and details are existence modified nearly every day, said Robison, adding that he is working closely with local health officials to brand decisions for the event.

Regardless of how things change in the coming weeks, Robison said there will be some form of in-person graduation anniversary for seniors, fifty-fifty if it means a small ceremony for each student.

"We know that we are out of bounds right at present. We hope that the state of affairs volition clear up in the adjacent few weeks, and we are prepared to offer a graduation ceremony that meets the atmospheric condition at the time," he said. "Nosotros will never do anything to jeopardize the health of students and our community, but nosotros demand to find balance and find a safety way to recognize kids."

In Placer Canton, Del Oro and Placer high schools both plan to hold in-person ceremonies with no more than than 50 graduates nowadays at one time, co-ordinate to a letter Placer Spousal relationship High School District Superintendent George Sziraki sent to families.

Meanwhile, counties with higher rates of coronavirus cases accept banned in-person and bulldoze-through graduations altogether. South Pasadena High School recently had to walk back plans for a bulldoze-through graduation ceremony after health officials advised that all graduations exist virtual only in Los Angeles Canton, which has twoscore,895 cases and 1,973 deaths related to the coronavirus equally of May 20.

In Santa Clara County, where 138 people have died of the coronavirus as of May xx, automobile parades were as well prohibited. But on May 18, the county wellness department reversed the rule, saying it is okay for residents to "participate in machine parades, so long as they ride in cars only with members of their households and practice non leave the cars during the parade or finish to get together at a fixed location," its website reads.

Other Bay Expanse counties such as Contra Costa and Alameda similarly revised shelter-in-place restrictions this week to allow auto gatherings for graduates. "These gatherings are considered fairly depression risk, but merely if all rules are followed," said Dr. Erica Pan, Health Officer for Alameda County.

Rural living comes with a unlike set up of needs and concerns, Robison and other rural didactics officials argue. Schoolhouse officials in Lucerne Valley said they are possibly more concerned about potential heat stroke during the ceremony with families in cars.

"One size isn't going to fit all for all districts," said Robison. "All the districts are facing very similar bug, but how they respond and solve those varies."

Graduation is one of many big changes that Miller, the senior at Lucerne Valley High, has faced during the pandemic. Just weeks ago she was ready to start a new affiliate studying at Cal Poly Pomona, but recently changed her plans because paying for student housing while classes are online didn't seem practical.

Now Miller plans to start her college journey at home, attending Victor Valley Community Higher. Her long-term goal is to major in agricultural scientific discipline and minor in didactics, then become an agricultural scientific discipline teacher.

"Everything from prom to senior trip and just going to school every day, it's hard to let go of whatever of those things, but graduation is the existent big wrap upwards," Miller said. "I worked for the diploma, but my parents worked for the retention of graduation. They want to run across me in a cap and gown."

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