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Families concerned after graduation ceremonies moved indoors

GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — Families in the Gaston County Schools District said celebrating a milestone will be different after officials said they are moving graduations for seven schools indoors.

Students said the average allotment was 10 tickets for previous outdoor ceremonies.

With the new arrangements, the allotment of tickets may stay the same, but only a fraction of their guests will be allowed to watch the ceremony in person. The remaining tickets will be reserved for overflow seating in separate rooms.

Several families are concerned that they will be stuck outside and won’t be able to get inside to watch their children graduate.

“Parents have started petitions and students have started petitions, and, like, thousands of people have signed them,” one student said.

A parent advocate for the area told Channel 9 several parents plan to address the school board about the decision at the next meeting later this month.

In the video at the top of this webpage, the change that impacts who can watch their children graduate.

A school district spokesman sent the following statement, explaining why the decision was made:

“Our high school principals have discussed the option of conducting graduation ceremonies indoors. This practice is already in place at six of our schools – East Gaston, North Gaston, Gaston Early College, Highland, Warlick and Webb Street.

"Schools have started discussing graduation with students and sharing information with them. This has led to comments on social media about the pros and cons related to having graduation indoors.

"Last year, the outdoor ceremonies at Ashbrook, Bessemer City, Cherryville, Stuart W. Cramer, Forestview, Hunter Huss and South Point were held indoors because of rain. As a result, the schools received positive comments about conducting graduation indoors. People shared with our principals that the program seemed more formal and attendees “felt closer” to the ceremony and graduates.

"With having the ceremonies indoors, rain, as well as summertime temperatures and high humidity, are factors that will no longer affect the ceremony.

"Overflow viewing areas are provided (such as the gymnasium, cafeteria or media center) where attendees can watch graduation on TV monitors. With ceremonies indoors, all schools will provide an overflow viewing area, and the schools will develop a live streaming option. Some schools already use live streaming, and we have gotten positive comments in the past about live streaming as family, friends, and others, especially people who live out-of-town, have the ability to watch the ceremony.

"Schools have always used a ticket system for graduation, regardless of whether the ceremony is indoors or outdoors. The number of tickets allotted to students is based on the number of graduates and the number of seats available. The number of tickets per student will be determined by each school, and this information will be shared with the students.”

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