Hinsdale High School District 86 will not have final exams next month, nor are proms likely, but will hold virtual graduation ceremonies.
The district will have a livestream video and recognition of every graduating senior on the graduation date that was scheduled for each high school, which is May 20 for Hinsdale South and May 21 for Hinsdale Central.
District 86 officials hope an in-person senior celebration can take place later in the summer, possibly in July, but they know there is no guarantee the coronavirus pandemic will have subsided by then.
The online ceremonies will ensure “we are able to honor our seniors in some form or fashion should the stay at home order or limit on mass gatherings remain in effect during the summer months,” District 86 Superintendent Tammy Prentiss said in a statement announcing decisions district officials are making about end-of-year activities now that Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced schools statewide will not reopen this school year.
“My heart is particularly heavy for the members of our senior class, who have worked so hard over the past three years to reach and celebrate the culmination of their high school careers,” Prentiss stated.
However, Prentiss said Pritzker’s decision to keep the schools closed the rest of the school year is “absolutely the right course of action” to keep people healthy and safe.
The Illinois High School Association is scheduled to meet via video conference Tuesday to decide what will happen with spring sport schedules and state tournaments, Prentiss said.
Lyons Township High School officials Tuesday said they were in the process of finalizing details about graduation and prom.
After schools shut down in March to reduce the spread of COVID-19, Hinsdale South’s prom originally planned for April 25 was tentatively rescheduled to May 29, and Central was preparing to postpone its May 2 prom until possibly May 23, but those dates are starting to look premature, too.
Even if the stay at home order is lifted or the limit on people gathering is relaxed next month, “any adjustments will likely be geared toward businesses that can help jump-start and revitalize the state’s economy,” Prentiss said.
In lieu of a spring prom, seniors could have a dance as part of a July celebration, but administrators welcome other suggestions from seniors, who are asked to send their ideas to their school principal.
The final day of school for the senior class will be May 11.
The last day of remote learning for the rest of the students will be May 15. They will also have May 18 and 19 to complete missing work or prepare for advanced placement exams.
The district will forego final exams. Teachers will tell their students how their final grades will be determined and what the remaining few weeks of instruction will include.
Administrators still are finalizing how end-of-year tasks, such as getting personal belongings from lockers, selling back books, and settling balances in PushCoin, the online account families use to pay student fees and pay for lunch, will be handled. Schools will share those plans with students and their parents once they are set.
Summer school will be conducted remotely, which means drivers education, math camp, technology camp and the science inquiry research course levels 2 and 3 will not be offered because they cannot take place entirely online.
Summer school registration is open until April 30. The summer school principals, Sue Grady and Sarah Porod, can answer questions about summer school at 630-570-8091 or sgrady@hinsdale86.org and 630-570-8245 or sporod@hinsdale86.org, respectively.
