Huge HS graduation time variation

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is a rotating schedule.

Every year, they move a slot later.

This year, our high school should have been 6th on the schedule, but they are one of the last graduations. They must have a new person scheduling who did not follow the long standing tradition of moving the schools one slot later, then taking last year's last school and making it first.

Lucky Robinson though! It's like they won the Willy Wonka golden ticket!

I was gonna say the same thing at West Springfield we were first in 2022. Then 2023 we moved a day later. Now 2 years later we are at the end on June 9th! How did we skip so many time slots to be at the end?

I wish there was uniformity on school ending. The later schools have to go for 2 weeks longer than earlier schools? Painful!

Wshs was actually 1st in 2020, but that was cancelled.

2021 was a weird schedule at Jiffy Lube, so it doesn't count.

It seemed like in 2022, WSHS was the 1st slot, 8AM (falling into the 1st slot that 2020 was supposed to have. If I remember correctly, FCPS just used the 2020 schedule for class of 2022.

Wshs was the 2nd day in 2023, 2PM on June 6, with graduations starting June 4 that year.

They were the 4th day for 2024, 9:30 AM on June 6.

It appears that the traditional move down one spot got messed up around 2023/2024 graduations.

Now there appears to be no rhyme or reason to the schedule, as if they drew the schools out of a hat.

The old system was much better. You could plan far in advance for things like travel.

Exactly so we expected June 2 or so. Not the 9th!!

Completely agree.

Someone screwed up the schedule this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree, OP, it's odd.

But it's also odd to me that students don't come to school the week before graduation. Where I grew up, graduation was after your last final exam on the last day of school. Seniors went 180 days just like freshmen.

FCPS has decided it is critical to allow everyone to bring as many guests as they want to graduation rather than limit tickets, so there are limited facilities that work. They schedule 3 graduations a day (90 minute arrival, 2 hours graduation, 90 minute clean up/set up for next graduation)--so 5 hour slots = 3 per day.

If people were okay with limiting graduation tickets to 4 per graduate, they could do it in the gyms on the last day and families could sit in bleachers. But i suspect there'd be mutiny over that too.

I would bet money that your high school in the 1980s did not go a full month after AP exams and classwork ended, just to sit in the building through mid June with nothing to do but watch movies (June 17th in the case of next year's seniors, which is more than a month after the last AP exam.)

Well Jim-Bo, you’d lose that bet because that’s exactly what happened and has been happening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree, OP, it's odd.

But it's also odd to me that students don't come to school the week before graduation. Where I grew up, graduation was after your last final exam on the last day of school. Seniors went 180 days just like freshmen.

FCPS has decided it is critical to allow everyone to bring as many guests as they want to graduation rather than limit tickets, so there are limited facilities that work. They schedule 3 graduations a day (90 minute arrival, 2 hours graduation, 90 minute clean up/set up for next graduation)--so 5 hour slots = 3 per day.

If people were okay with limiting graduation tickets to 4 per graduate, they could do it in the gyms on the last day and families could sit in bleachers. But i suspect there'd be mutiny over that too.

I would bet money that your high school in the 1980s did not go a full month after AP exams and classwork ended, just to sit in the building through mid June with nothing to do but watch movies (June 17th in the case of next year's seniors, which is more than a month after the last AP exam.)

Well Jim-Bo, you’d lose that bet because that’s exactly what happened and has been happening.

Your old high school has a full month of school with no work until they graduate mid june in your school gym?

What small town does this?

Most FCPS senior classes are too large for the students to all be in the gym for a grad ceremony. The biggest high school auditoriums in FCPS only seat around 1200, which would not allow the students to all bring even one parent.

In FCPS, since you are not familiar with this area, seniors finish all their finals and work when the AP tests end, which is mid May. Your school district way back when might have senior finals in June, perhaps because not many kids took AP tests way back then. But that is not how FCPS and high schools work now.


No one wants to keep the seniors in school through mid to late June, just so they can all have graduation the same day in their high school gyms.

It is a terrible suggestion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree, OP, it's odd.

But it's also odd to me that students don't come to school the week before graduation. Where I grew up, graduation was after your last final exam on the last day of school. Seniors went 180 days just like freshmen.

FCPS has decided it is critical to allow everyone to bring as many guests as they want to graduation rather than limit tickets, so there are limited facilities that work. They schedule 3 graduations a day (90 minute arrival, 2 hours graduation, 90 minute clean up/set up for next graduation)--so 5 hour slots = 3 per day.

If people were okay with limiting graduation tickets to 4 per graduate, they could do it in the gyms on the last day and families could sit in bleachers. But i suspect there'd be mutiny over that too.

Tell that to the schools that have to graduate at Constitution Hall! Five tickets per family. Not nearly enough for many families, leaving them begging for tickets.

You, again?? Five tickets per family is generally plenty. There are also lots of families who need fewer tickets, so they will offer theirs up. We love being able to graduate at Constitution Hall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Could not attend my two APS grandchildren’s ceremony at Constitution Hall. Not suitable for elderly and parking atrocious. Eagle Bank the best! Have been to many there.

We took our elderly parents to Constitution Hall via Uber. We were dropped off right at the side entrance for handicapped visitors and led to seating right on the floor. It was seamless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How can we get Constitution Hall changed? We have one coming up in 4 years and I want to start working on this now. Who had the power? The PTA? School board? Who’s on board to get Madison moved elsewhere?

Good luck! Lots of parents consider it incredibly special to graduate at DAR.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree, OP, it's odd.

But it's also odd to me that students don't come to school the week before graduation. Where I grew up, graduation was after your last final exam on the last day of school. Seniors went 180 days just like freshmen.

FCPS has decided it is critical to allow everyone to bring as many guests as they want to graduation rather than limit tickets, so there are limited facilities that work. They schedule 3 graduations a day (90 minute arrival, 2 hours graduation, 90 minute clean up/set up for next graduation)--so 5 hour slots = 3 per day.

If people were okay with limiting graduation tickets to 4 per graduate, they could do it in the gyms on the last day and families could sit in bleachers. But i suspect there'd be mutiny over that too.

I would bet money that your high school in the 1980s did not go a full month after AP exams and classwork ended, just to sit in the building through mid June with nothing to do but watch movies (June 17th in the case of next year's seniors, which is more than a month after the last AP exam.)

Well Jim-Bo, you’d lose that bet because that’s exactly what happened and has been happening.

Your old high school has a full month of school with no work until they graduate mid june in your school gym?

What small town does this?

Most FCPS senior classes are too large for the students to all be in the gym for a grad ceremony. The biggest high school auditoriums in FCPS only seat around 1200, which would not allow the students to all bring even one parent.

In FCPS, since you are not familiar with this area, seniors finish all their finals and work when the AP tests end, which is mid May. Your school district way back when might have senior finals in June, perhaps because not many kids took AP tests way back then. But that is not how FCPS and high schools work now.


No one wants to keep the seniors in school through mid to late June, just so they can all have graduation the same day in their high school gyms.

It is a terrible suggestion.

+1
Not to mention, many FCPS high schools let their seniors do a two-week internship during the period after AP exams are over and graduation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree, OP, it's odd.

But it's also odd to me that students don't come to school the week before graduation. Where I grew up, graduation was after your last final exam on the last day of school. Seniors went 180 days just like freshmen.

FCPS has decided it is critical to allow everyone to bring as many guests as they want to graduation rather than limit tickets, so there are limited facilities that work. They schedule 3 graduations a day (90 minute arrival, 2 hours graduation, 90 minute clean up/set up for next graduation)--so 5 hour slots = 3 per day.

If people were okay with limiting graduation tickets to 4 per graduate, they could do it in the gyms on the last day and families could sit in bleachers. But i suspect there'd be mutiny over that too.

Tell that to the schools that have to graduate at Constitution Hall! Five tickets per family. Not nearly enough for many families, leaving them begging for tickets.

You, again?? Five tickets per family is generally plenty. There are also lots of families who need fewer tickets, so they will offer theirs up. We love being able to graduate at Constitution Hall.

So happy for you that you LOVE it so much. Lots of people hate it. But clearly only you matter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree, OP, it's odd.

But it's also odd to me that students don't come to school the week before graduation. Where I grew up, graduation was after your last final exam on the last day of school. Seniors went 180 days just like freshmen.

FCPS has decided it is critical to allow everyone to bring as many guests as they want to graduation rather than limit tickets, so there are limited facilities that work. They schedule 3 graduations a day (90 minute arrival, 2 hours graduation, 90 minute clean up/set up for next graduation)--so 5 hour slots = 3 per day.

If people were okay with limiting graduation tickets to 4 per graduate, they could do it in the gyms on the last day and families could sit in bleachers. But i suspect there'd be mutiny over that too.

Tell that to the schools that have to graduate at Constitution Hall! Five tickets per family. Not nearly enough for many families, leaving them begging for tickets.

You, again?? Five tickets per family is generally plenty. There are also lots of families who need fewer tickets, so they will offer theirs up. We love being able to graduate at Constitution Hall.

So happy for you that you LOVE it so much. Lots of people hate it. But clearly only you matter.

Oh, the irony!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree, OP, it's odd.

But it's also odd to me that students don't come to school the week before graduation. Where I grew up, graduation was after your last final exam on the last day of school. Seniors went 180 days just like freshmen.

FCPS has decided it is critical to allow everyone to bring as many guests as they want to graduation rather than limit tickets, so there are limited facilities that work. They schedule 3 graduations a day (90 minute arrival, 2 hours graduation, 90 minute clean up/set up for next graduation)--so 5 hour slots = 3 per day.

If people were okay with limiting graduation tickets to 4 per graduate, they could do it in the gyms on the last day and families could sit in bleachers. But i suspect there'd be mutiny over that too.

The graduations at DAR have a limit on tickets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree, OP, it's odd.

But it's also odd to me that students don't come to school the week before graduation. Where I grew up, graduation was after your last final exam on the last day of school. Seniors went 180 days just like freshmen.

FCPS has decided it is critical to allow everyone to bring as many guests as they want to graduation rather than limit tickets, so there are limited facilities that work. They schedule 3 graduations a day (90 minute arrival, 2 hours graduation, 90 minute clean up/set up for next graduation)--so 5 hour slots = 3 per day.

If people were okay with limiting graduation tickets to 4 per graduate, they could do it in the gyms on the last day and families could sit in bleachers. But i suspect there'd be mutiny over that too.

What gym in the county holds enough for all the graduates, 4 guests and the teachers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree, OP, it's odd.

But it's also odd to me that students don't come to school the week before graduation. Where I grew up, graduation was after your last final exam on the last day of school. Seniors went 180 days just like freshmen.

FCPS has decided it is critical to allow everyone to bring as many guests as they want to graduation rather than limit tickets, so there are limited facilities that work. They schedule 3 graduations a day (90 minute arrival, 2 hours graduation, 90 minute clean up/set up for next graduation)--so 5 hour slots = 3 per day.

If people were okay with limiting graduation tickets to 4 per graduate, they could do it in the gyms on the last day and families could sit in bleachers. But i suspect there'd be mutiny over that too.

What gym in the county holds enough for all the graduates, 4 guests and the teachers?

None. Many of those schools were doing it outside (Lewis, etc) until weather was such an issue Dr. Reid said everyone is going inside.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree, OP, it's odd.

But it's also odd to me that students don't come to school the week before graduation. Where I grew up, graduation was after your last final exam on the last day of school. Seniors went 180 days just like freshmen.

FCPS has decided it is critical to allow everyone to bring as many guests as they want to graduation rather than limit tickets, so there are limited facilities that work. They schedule 3 graduations a day (90 minute arrival, 2 hours graduation, 90 minute clean up/set up for next graduation)--so 5 hour slots = 3 per day.

If people were okay with limiting graduation tickets to 4 per graduate, they could do it in the gyms on the last day and families could sit in bleachers. But i suspect there'd be mutiny over that too.

The graduations at DAR have a limit on tickets.

DP. Which I appreciate. I think it's obnoxious when people bring enormous extended families to graduations. There is no reason for it and they drown out the other graduates' names when they continue to cheer and holler far too long.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Could not attend my two APS grandchildren’s ceremony at Constitution Hall. Not suitable for elderly and parking atrocious. Eagle Bank the best! Have been to many there.

DAR does not follow the ADA. It should NOT be used by public schools for graduation.

[Anonymous]

South Lakes was Friday the 7th last year at 7PM. This year it’s the 10th! at 2. It’s so late! Add to it that I’m a teacher and need a sub on the second last day of school. C’est la vie but I definitely feel we drew the short straw this year.