Today, June 23rd, the LRSD sent out a letter to all the families of graduates for the 2020 school year to announce that there will not be in-person graduation ceremonies this year and that the events scheduled for July have been cancelled. It also explained some of the reasons why the July events were cancelled and there would not be any rescheduling. Feel free to read the letter below regarding the 2020 graduation ceremonies and why LRSD came to this decision. The letter is also shared on www.lrsd.org under "Latest District News."
Dear Little Rock Families,
The Class of 2020 certainly has experienced an unprecedented and challenging year, yet, despite all of the obstacles, they continue to shine, demonstrating a remarkable resilience well beyond their years. Equally remarkable is the support the Little Rock School District has received from our community, parents and staff in honoring these outstanding graduates.
We are proud of the fact that we have been able to pay tribute to our graduates in so many innovative ways. It can also be said that even more people had the opportunity to celebrate with our graduates this year as a result of a collective effort that included yard signs, the lighting of the downtown bridges (Thank you, Mayor Frank Scott), social medium platforms, and maybe most importantly, virtual graduation ceremonies. We were able to engage nearly 100K viewers on the Facebook stream, alone. The ceremonies, which featured wonderful senior speeches and tributes from President Bill Clinton and Mayor Scott, were also available on LRSD’s cable channels and on-demand on www.lrsdtv.org.
We originally shared that we would explore the possibility of hosting in-person ceremonies in July, and have been diligent in those efforts. Regrettably, we cannot find a safe way to conduct such ceremonies while following CDC guidelines. Today, we are, therefore, sharing that we will not pursue outdoor graduation ceremonies. We appreciate your understanding of our desire and commitment to keep students, families and staff safe in these uncertain times.
We again would like to extend our best wishes to the Class of 2020 for your tremendous accomplishments. It is our hope that during your time at LRSD, you have been given the foundation you need to be life-long learners and leaders, and trust that you will be successful in your future endeavors.
Sincerely,
Mike Poore
Superintendent of Schools