High schools in Jefferson County are planning for graduation ceremonies less restrictive than those that were held just a few months into the coronavirus pandemic last year.
The Dollarway School District will hold the first high school commencement in the county this year. Graduation is scheduled for 6 p.m. May 11 at Cardinal Stadium on the old Dollarway High campus at 4900 Dollarway Road.
Students will be seated on the football field, and social distancing and wearing of face masks will be enforced.
That same night, Watson Chapel High School will conduct its graduation at the Pine Bluff Convention Center arena starting at 7 p.m.
"There will be plenty of opportunity for people to social distance if they choose," Watson Chapel Superintendent Jerry Guess said. "The board has made a decision that masks will continue to be required."
Guess said graduates last year were brought into the high school auditorium on a scheduled cycle to receive their diplomas, using guidance from the Arkansas Department of Health. For example, a limited number of each graduate's family was allowed to stand in the auditorium at one time.
"It was the best we could do," Guess said. "This year, it will be the traditional kind of gathering."
Pine Bluff and White Hall high schools will also hand out diplomas on the same night -- May 21.
Pine Bluff's ceremony will be at the Convention Center arena as well. Each graduate will receive 10 tickets for family and friends, and each group will be separated by 6 feet of space. A row will be left empty in between each group.
Graduates from Pine Bluff only received about three tickets apiece last July. When students picked up their caps and gowns that April, a parade was held as plans for a traditional ceremony were still in limbo.
White Hall High School will host its graduation at Bulldog Stadium. Principal Nathan Sullivan said the ceremony was moved to the stadium last year in an effort to host more visitors, but students narrowly voted this year in favor of keeping it there.
"We'll still have 10 tickets per student," Sullivan said, adding the ceremony will be streamed on the school's website.
Groups will be asked to be seated 6 feet apart from each other, and masks will be required, Sullivan said.
Southeast Arkansas College's graduation will not be as traditional as the high schools'.
A virtual commencement for the college is scheduled for 7 p.m. May 14 and will be released on SEARK's social media feeds and the school app.
"We record our portion with our remarks, then the students have an opportunity to say 'Thank you' to their loved ones, and the company that does this puts the video all together," SEARK President Steven Bloomberg said.