Friday afternoon, Superintendent Diana Greene sent a note to high school seniors announcing “traditional ceremonies” would take place in July 2020.
“We have already begun planning traditional ceremonies for a non-traditional time,” Greene said.
The school district’s 16 originally scheduled graduation ceremonies were supposed to occur throughout May at venues including the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts, UNF Arena and Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena — all of which have canceled events because of the pandemic.
Earlier this month, St. Johns County School District announced it would pivot to a virtual ceremony, something seniors indicated they didn’t want to Duval Schools officials.
According to Greene, the district’s decision to keep hosting in-person ceremonies, just at a later time, was partly inspired by survey responses from seniors.
“Thousands of you replied to our survey about the most desirable alternative to traditional commencement ceremonies,” Greene said in her note. “And overwhelmingly, you asked for traditional ceremonies later this summer.”