Anonymous wrote:For kids at high schools like Justice, Annandale, Falls Church and Edison, it will be their last time participating in a graduation.

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Anonymous wrote:If OP’s kid’s graduation was at DAR, then the post would read:

Why is our graduation at DAR???!!!

Seriously? We have to scope to ANOTHER state, fight traffic & crime and LIMITED seating?! Why can’t our venue be to perfectly fine GMU arena with ample parking and seating? WHY ??!?

Exactly. This is what we see every year from a few disgruntled parents who can't cope with the idea of DAR. They'd rather have a football field graduation in the blazing hot sun.

The rich kid schools getting together to book DAR, families at kids attending other schools should just accept that rich schools are more equal

Why don't you lobby for your school to get together with other schools and book DAR? What's stopping you?

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Anonymous wrote:DC graduated HS at DAR in the late a.m.

Mad rush to get there early, park in a parking garage and then walk four blocks on a hot and humid 90+ day.

We are a family of 5 and although we could have tried for extra tickets, it wasn’t the environment that the elderly grandparents would have liked - crowded, hurried and open seating.

Then after the ceremony, we were hustled out of DAR because another HS had grad soon after. Told not to take more than a few photos, walk away ASAP. Difficult to find your grad and meet up at the end because they left from a side entrance and everyone else out the front.

Next HS grad used Jiffy Lube and despite initial hesitation (too far, during Covid, would it be impersonal) it was nearly perfect and a nicer venue - felt more relaxed and far easier to meet up with graduates and their families and take pics. Didn’t feel hurried and very comfortable venue.

Last year, I heard DAR staff say some pretty awful things to a family in the bums rush out of the venue.

The staff were also extremely rude to an elderly relative who wanted to keep their walker close by. The walker was taken when they sat down and another family member had to go searching for where it was stashed.

It’s a horrible venue that adds so much stress to the day. I wonder who in FCPS is benefiting from the continued contractual relationship.

Anonymous wrote:DC graduated HS at DAR in the late a.m.

Mad rush to get there early, park in a parking garage and then walk four blocks on a hot and humid 90+ day.

We are a family of 5 and although we could have tried for extra tickets, it wasn’t the environment that the elderly grandparents would have liked - crowded, hurried and open seating.

Then after the ceremony, we were hustled out of DAR because another HS had grad soon after. Told not to take more than a few photos, walk away ASAP. Difficult to find your grad and meet up at the end because they left from a side entrance and everyone else out the front.

Next HS grad used Jiffy Lube and despite initial hesitation (too far, during Covid, would it be impersonal) it was nearly perfect and a nicer venue - felt more relaxed and far easier to meet up with graduates and their families and take pics. Didn’t feel hurried and very comfortable venue.

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Anonymous wrote:I'm still laughing at "mediocre". I mean, this isn't the Oscars. And I'm gonna manage your expectations; college, which you pay an arm and a leg for isn't much better. At UMCP, my major graduated in the Armory. We were jealous of those in the chapel up the hill; but were also thankful we weren't in the field house where it smelled like they dumped chlorine in the indoor pool the day before graduation. In the grand scheme of things, this is so stupid. And like another poster said, I keep coming back for the lolz.

OP Here- My DD will be graduating college on the Lawn at UVA, not in some arena built in the 80s. EagleBank is where kids from schools like Robinson graduate. Rundown, old dilapidated part of the county full of strip malls, panhandlers, and dated neighborhoods

Haha OP, no she won't. They'll walk the Lawn, sweat their asses off, then retreat to another location to get their degree, depending on their program. Hopefully she's graduating with a super small program, otherwise you could spend your afternoon in Mem Gym.

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Anonymous wrote:I'm still laughing at "mediocre". I mean, this isn't the Oscars. And I'm gonna manage your expectations; college, which you pay an arm and a leg for isn't much better. At UMCP, my major graduated in the Armory. We were jealous of those in the chapel up the hill; but were also thankful we weren't in the field house where it smelled like they dumped chlorine in the indoor pool the day before graduation. In the grand scheme of things, this is so stupid. And like another poster said, I keep coming back for the lolz.

OP Here- My DD will be graduating college on the Lawn at UVA, not in some arena built in the 80s. EagleBank is where kids from schools like Robinson graduate. Rundown, old dilapidated part of the county full of strip malls, panhandlers, and dated neighborhoods

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm still laughing at "mediocre". I mean, this isn't the Oscars. And I'm gonna manage your expectations; college, which you pay an arm and a leg for isn't much better. At UMCP, my major graduated in the Armory. We were jealous of those in the chapel up the hill; but were also thankful we weren't in the field house where it smelled like they dumped chlorine in the indoor pool the day before graduation. In the grand scheme of things, this is so stupid. And like another poster said, I keep coming back for the lolz.

OP Here- My DD will be graduating college on the Lawn at UVA, not in some arena built in the 80s. EagleBank is where kids from schools like Robinson graduate. Rundown, old dilapidated part of the county full of strip malls, panhandlers, and dated neighborhoods

You are a peach!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm still laughing at "mediocre". I mean, this isn't the Oscars. And I'm gonna manage your expectations; college, which you pay an arm and a leg for isn't much better. At UMCP, my major graduated in the Armory. We were jealous of those in the chapel up the hill; but were also thankful we weren't in the field house where it smelled like they dumped chlorine in the indoor pool the day before graduation. In the grand scheme of things, this is so stupid. And like another poster said, I keep coming back for the lolz.

OP Here- My DD will be graduating college on the Lawn at UVA, not in some arena built in the 80s. EagleBank is where kids from schools like Robinson graduate. Rundown, old dilapidated part of the county full of strip malls, panhandlers, and dated neighborhoods

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Anonymous wrote:Only the top high schools get DAR as their graduation venue. McLean, Langley, Madison, Marshall.

Eagle Bank is for the riffraff.

Nice trolling, but no. Those four schools got together and agreed to share a day at DAR. You need four schools per day there for the time slots. If four other schools did the same thing, they could also graduate at DAR.
DP

Arlington only has three high schools, but they manage to do the DAR graduations on the same day. Arlington does it there because it’s the closest large venue.

Actually, there’s a movement to change this. Many APS parents are tired of the hassle with not having enough tickets for their family so working to hopefully change the venue in the next 3 to 4 years.

This is such BS. Nice try, troll!

Huh? This is not trolling, there’s a group of parents from multiple high schools, who are going to take this to the school board.

Anonymous wrote:I thought all FCPS Schools graduated at DAR. Apparently not. Our school is doing their ceremony at GMU. Seriously? A horrendous venue in a mediocre part of Fairfax County. The arena is a literal box and feels like a warehouse more than a venue. Horrendous lighting and acoustics. FCPS is again cutting corners.

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Anonymous wrote:Are you kidding? We are in APS and we have to go to DAR... Each family gets 4 tickets ONLY due to size constraints. That leaves no room for grandparents or siblings if you have more than 3 kids (yes these families exist!) At least at Eagle Bank you have unlimited seating and parking!

We never had trouble finding an extra ticket.

We're in FCPS and got six tickets/family - maybe it depends on the size of the graduating class. We didn't need one ticket, so we gave it to another family.