The Public School System is looking at possible ways to promote graduating seniors without violating the current social distancing directive and one of the plans being discussed is a drive-thru graduation. <\/p>\n
According to Education Commissioner Dr. Alfred Ada, the PSS administration has been in discussion about how they can provide a graduation for the Class of 2020 despite the current challenges wrought by COVID-19. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe do have plans on how we can be creative in doing a graduation with the COVID-19 directive. I know it\u2019s challenging but I think it\u2019s going to be fun,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Ada said because the drive-thru method has proven successful in the past, with the Child Nutrition Program meal distribution as an example, PSS administration is looking at drive-thru diploma distributions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re really big on drive-thru. Because of social distancing, we may have a drive-thru diploma distribution,\u201d Ada said. <\/p>\n
Although the drive-thru diploma distribution is still on the planning stages, Ada said there is still a possibility that seniors will have their graduation, even if it might be later in the year, around August or October. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re trying to come up with something to have some kind of graduation ceremony. We might postpone graduation until it\u2019s safe. If by June it\u2019s still not safe, then we might have a ceremony in August or October. We\u2019re speculating right now because every day with COVID-19 is different and we need to shift each time,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Right now, for safety purposes, graduations remain cancelled.<\/p>\n
According to Saipan Tribune archives, Ada doesn\u2019t want to keep anyone\u2019s hopes up and, although he doesn\u2019t want to cancel the graduations, it\u2019s become absolutely necessary for the safety of the students, PSS staff, and the entire community. <\/p>\n
\u201cAt this point, we are canceling all graduations for now until further notice. If something else comes up, like an idea, we will explore that. I don\u2019t want to give any false hopes and say, \u2018We might still have graduation,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
A university in Japan made waves last month after it cancelled its graduation ceremony, due to social distancing measures brought about by the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, the university deployed robots, with iPads as faces, standing in for the students and collecting diplomas on their behalf.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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