As the 2020–21 school year winds down, one big question looms for both high-school and college seniors: What will graduation look like? 

In the second school year directly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, states, school districts, and colleges across the country are beginning to announce spring graduation plans and it’s looking pretty good so far.
Well, seniors get the opportunity to bring 8-10 people instead of two to their graduation ceremony. Because the COVID-19 guidelines have been almost lifted, a health screening is not required upon entering the North Area Athletic Complex where the ceremony will take place.
Wheat Ridge High School seniors experienced a most unusual end to their high school experience thanks to COVID-19, which reshaped nearly every aspect of the last year, starting with abrupt school closures in March 2020. As they started their last academic year in the fall, there was still little certainty about how schools would operate amidst the public health crisis.
Unfortunately, the class of 2021 didn’t get the chance to experience their senior year as they wanted to, but they will get to graduate in a way that can feel original and normal. The seniors this year did have a banquet instead of having prom. It provided some sort of normality for them and the staff at Wheat Ridge formed this event to thank the seniors for enduring all of the hardships they had to go through this year.
Now that many students, teachers, and parents are getting coronavirus shots, they have better opportunities to attend gatherings without being contagious towards other people. As the number of people getting vaccinated increases across Colorado and the weather warms up, schools are planning in-person commencement ceremonies, many of which will take place outdoors in the coming weeks with social distance for all guests attending.

Though the seniors have plenty to be excited about, they acknowledged the many challenges they had to overcome this year. Tomorrow, May 21, will be the day seniors have been waiting for and hopefully it’ll be as great as they’ve envisioned.

As they stand on the brink of graduation, one thing the seniors had in common was enthusiasm about the future, even if it wasn’t what they originally had in mind.

Here, you can find more information about the graduation ceremony for the class of 2021: Graduation Details and FAQ