Weather to factor into Dist. 203 graduation evaluation
With seniors graduating from Naperville Unit District 203's two high schools a day later than expected, it's now time for officials to take a step back to review how the commencement ceremonies went.
Their review of graduations held Wednesday evening in the football stadiums at Naperville Central and Naperville North high schools certainly will include the weather after a round of storms caused the ceremonies to be postponed from their original date of Tuesday.
“The role the weather plays in our assessment of how successful graduation was would be natural for us to consider,” Deputy Superintendent Kaine Osburn said Wednesday.
Osburn said teams from Naperville Central and Naperville North evaluate how graduation went each year, so this year's review will be nothing out of the ordinary.
Even with Tuesday's rain fresh on the minds of students, family members and district officials, Osburn said it's important not to “let one day necessarily determine the future course of action” without a more complete review of graduation logistics and procedures.
High school principals said this is the first time in recent years a graduation ceremony has been postponed because of bad weather. If it would have rained again Wednesday, the graduations would have been moved inside to each school's gym.
The last time principals sought parent input about the location of graduation ceremonies, Osburn said they heard support for the district's practice of hosting each occasion on the school's football field.
“Parents were very much in favor of keeping it on-site and outdoors,” Osburn said.
He said feelings might change, but the district will gather feedback from each school before making any changes.
“If we need to investigate alternatives as to how we conduct graduation, we would do that,” Osburn said.