We are very excited to share our graduation plans for the Class of 2020!
We will hold a traditional, in-person ceremony for each school in the school’s football stadium. The date and time for each school is listed at the end of this document.
To make in-person graduations possible, we must follow social distancing guidelines for the health and safety of all graduates, guests and staff. The following safety measures will be in place for all graduations:
To allow room for social distancing in the stands, each graduate will be given two tickets for guests. Tickets will be issued at the end of graduation practice on July 20.
Chairs on the field for graduates will be spaced six feet apart, and family units in the stands must sit six feet apart from other groups.
Gates will open one hour before the ceremony. Graduates should be in place between 30 minutes and one hour before the ceremony.
Graduates, guests and staff should not attend the graduation if they have any symptoms of COVID-19, including fever, chills, shortness of breath, new or worsening cough, headache, sore throat, new loss of smell or taste, vomiting, diarrhea or body aches.
No handshaking will occur.
At the conclusion of the ceremony, guests will be dismissed from the stands in sections. Guests will not be allowed on the field.
Students and guests are asked not to congregate on the school campus.
At graduation practice, all students will be given a mask to wear for graduation.
Guests are strongly encouraged to wear a mask.
Guests and graduates considered to be medically fragile per Governor Kemp’s executive order are encouraged not to attend in person
Hand sanitizer stations will be available.
To accommodate family and friends who will be unable to attend graduation in person, we will livestream the ceremonies. We will provide information on how to access the livestream closer to the date.
Participating in the graduation ceremony is completely voluntary, and we respect that everyone has a different situation and comfort level with being in a public venue at this time. For students who are unable to participate in graduation in July because of a commitment to the military or college athletic obligations or for health reasons, we welcome you to participate in graduation ceremonies for the Class of 2021 next May. We will make it special for you.
Graduation plans were made by a committee including the superintendent, central office personnel and principals. While we acknowledge that we will not please everyone with our decisions, we feel we have made the best choice under the circumstances. Delaying graduations until July gave us the opportunity to observe video of graduations from other school districts and choose the best elements from each. We identified this plan as the most appropriate and meaningful for the Class of 2020. The plan has been approved by Cobb & Douglas Public Health.
Thank you for your understanding of the guidelines for this year’s ceremonies.
We do need an accurate count for graduation, so we ask that you go to the link below to fill out a form indicating whether you will or will not participate in graduation.
July 20
Mandatory graduation practice for all schools, 9:00 a.m.
July 21
Chapel Hill High School, 8:00 a.m.
Alexander High School, 8:00 p.m.
July 22
New Manchester High School, 8:00 a.m.
Lithia Springs High School, 10:30 a.m.
Douglas County High School, 8:00 p.m. at a location to be determined due to stadium renovation