County Health Officials Turn Down Idea Of Drive-In Graduation Ceremony

Graduation season is quickly approaching, and school districts across the country are now trying to decide how they can best honor the outgoing classes of 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Some students from multiple South Bay high schools recently got creative and came up with an idea... To hold a physically-distant graduation ceremony at Torrance's Roadium Drive-In. However, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health didn't like the idea one bit, and continue to discourage schools from holding any and all end-of-year ceremonies, including those that would be physically-distant.

According to Suzanne Seymour, president of the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District's Board of Education, her team had already started looking into holding graduations at the Roadium Drive-In, before it was turned down. She says the idea of not holding any ceremonies for the graduating students would be very disappointing.

But the task force of Los Angeles county education officials and district leaders say that holding graduation at the 15-acre Torrance drive-in just wouldn't be enough space to properly prevent the spread of the virus, citing that students would be too tempted to get out of their cars to socialize with others.

“Such gatherings may be difficult to ensure the safety of students and families,” Los Angeles County superintendent Debra Duardo wrote in a recent memo to educators. “It is safer for everyone to stay home.”

But Oscar Ruiz, a spokesperson for the Roadium Drive-In, says that holding a safe graduation ceremony there is possible. Still, Duardo is encouraging all schools to find other plans for the seniors on their big day.

For more details, visit The Daily Breeze.


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