Paul Bass Photo
They may not have crowds of well-wishers filling bleachers and yelling their names, but high school seniors will have “some form” of in-person graduation ceremony this year.
Superintendent of Schools Iline Tracey offered that update Wednesday during city officials’ daily Covid-19 press briefing, held via the Zoom videoconferencing app.
Superintendent Tracey at Wednesday presser.
“We have great plans for graduation for our students,” Tracey said. “We have been saying all along that our seniors get some form of graduation.” She said high school principals participated in a conference call earlier Wednesday to talk about the details of how they will conduct ceremonies; ideas include “drive-through” graduations. (A day earlier, Assistant Superintendent Paul Whyte told the Independent seniors may take turns walking up to a stage from their cars to pick up diplomas one by one.)
The Board of Education is also distributing yard signs to the homes of graduating seniors (like the one pictured at the top of this story). And a motorcade is planned for June 5 to celebrate the seniors, Tracey said. Plans are in the works to make sure seniors who need summer-school credits will be able to take the classes.
This banner went up at City Hall to spread the message as well.
Other updates from the briefing:
• To date, 2,420 New Haveners have tested positive for Covid-19, with 104 deaths.
• Over 100 people took advantage of free Covid-19 testing on the Green Wednesday.
• Elicker was asked about the newly passed city budget reliance on a $2.5 million extra contribution from Yale and Yale New Haven Hospital. The city has no power to require that extra contribution; neither institution has indicated that it will pay more money than it has so far committed. Elicker said he pressed for greater contributions in conversations leading up to the release of his proposed version of the budget. He called it the “ethical thing to do” and a way to boost the hospital’s “mission to improve the health of the community.” Since the pandemic hit, Elicker said, he has focused on working together with the hospital to protect public health. He said that has been a productive relationship. Latest example: An agreement to launch a YNHH testing site at the former Strong School on Orchard Street, a more accessible location than the Sargent Drive location from which it will move.
Tracey said the city's graduation rate rose from 78.9 percent to 80.9 this year, with High School in the Community posting a 13.5 percent gain.
Not surprising, since it seems NHPS is graduating everyone regardless of whether they actually completed their coursework or learned anything this last quarter. Graduation rates are meaningful only if graduation represents a meaningful accomplishment and learning basics like compound interest and being able to read and understand a loan document.