Driving in, walking across

The Class of 2020 will trade chairs in a gym for passenger seats in a parking lot.

When it comes time to get their diplomas, however, they will still get to walk across the stage like the previous 44 classes of Patriots.

Jay County High School will say goodbye to a group of students who saw their senior year cut short by the coronavirus pandemic with a drive-in ceremony at 2 p.m. Saturday.

The event originally called for vehicles to drive past the stage for the distribution of diplomas. But about two weeks ago, amid stay-at-home restrictions being lifted, JCHS got the OK from Jay County Health Department for the students to walk.

“Everyone was pretty excited,” said JCHS senior class president Devan Bennett. “Because I think walking itself is kind of symbolic — you’ve walked across the stage. you’re finally through everything, both figuratively and literally. So everyone was definitely super excited about that. At least that will keep it a little traditional.”

“I think that’s definitely the part of regular graduation that was wanted.”

There will still be differences and precautions.

When students are called to the stage they will wait in line 6 feet apart.

Since they won’t be in alphabetical order, each student will have a notecard with their full name on it to hand to English teacher Melanie Stockton, who will be announcing the graduates.

When they walk across the stage, all those involved in handing them diplomas and congratulation them will be wearing masks and gloves.

The goal, though, was to give the senior class as close to a normal graduation ceremony as possible during a year that has been anything but, and traversing the stage was a key factor.

“That’s the biggest part of graduation,” said JCHS principal Chad Dodd. “That’s the part that the parents, the families, the students most look forward to.”

Jay School Corporation administrators, in close consultation with senior class and student council officers, decided in mid-April on the drive-in graduation format, with the ability to adjust if restrictions were lifted. The logistics of the event will be similar to those of the May 9 senior honors day that served as a trial run for this weekend.

Seniors, who are limited to one vehicle each, are asked to begin arriving at the high school at 12:30 p.m. Saturday with the graduation tickets that were mailed to them clearly displayed in their windshield. Students should be in the passenger seat in their cap and gown. They will be directed into the main parking lot, which will serve as the staging area, and then moved to the “driving range” lot that sits between the softball and soccer fields. The senior memories video will begin playing at 1 p.m. to provide attendees with something to watch as they wait for the ceremony to begin.

More traditional graduation activities will start with the playing of “Pomp and Circumstance” at 1:45 p.m., and JCHS senior Leah Hamilton will take the stage to deliver the invocation at 2 p.m. Her classmates Cheyenne Liette and Bennett will follow with the Pledge of Allegiance and opening remarks, respectively.

Senior choir members will perform in a pre-recorded video, and Mikele Suman will deliver the senior commencement address. Superintendent Jeremy Gulley will offer remarks to the class, and then the graduates will be called up to receive their diplomas row by row.

JCHS senior Chase McFarland will deliver the closing remarks before Dodd presents the graduating class.

“As far as the ceremony goes, you won’t notice much difference,” said Dodd. “We’ll have students on the stage giving the opening, saying the pledge, giving the speeches, just like we normally do.

“With the exception that kids are sitting in their car instead of in chairs, what they’re going to see is going to be very similar.”

Other than when graduates are called to walk across the stage, everyone will remain in their vehicles with their windows rolled up. The stage at the west side of the parking lot will be flanked by two large LED video screens from Neoti, a Bluffton company that is one of several working with Jay Schools to put on the event. (Portland Rotary Club provided funding to allow for the second screen after one was used during the honors day event.)

Audio will be broadcast on WPGW Radio while FrontRunner Media of Indianapolis coordinates video from cameras on the ground and drones from G3 Drone Solutions of Hartford City for a live stream of the event on both Facebook and YouTube. Watch Communications, a sister company of Portland’s Community Fiber Solutions, will have mobile Wi-Fi set up in the lot to provide service for those in attendance.

In case of inclement weather, the event could be delayed Saturday or pushed back to Sunday, but Saturday’s forecast currently calls for sunny skies and a high of 82 degrees with only a 10-percent chance of rain.

That’s good news for administrators, teachers and staff, who are excited to see the JCHS Class of 2020 together for the first time since school let out March 13. After all, Dodd pointed out, being involved in education is all about serving students.

“For us, that’s why you do it,” he said. “Just having them all there to be able to see them again is exciting for us. There’s a little bit of buzz in the office this week because we know they’re all going to be together again. For these kids, it’s the last time this group is going to be together.”

And what are the students looking forward to most during this first-of-its-kind event for their last moments as high schoolers?

“Just being together,” said Bennett. “Honors night was fun with that, but it wasn’t our entire class This will be the first time in a really long time that we will all be together. Even if we can’t see each other, there’s still a sense of unity there.”