The high school Class of 2020 is an inspiring group of young people, more than 3 million strong. That’s why we wanted to celebrate them with a national graduation ceremony: Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Class of 2020. There will be musical performances, guest speakers, and stories told by high school students, educators, and families. President Obama will also be there to deliver the commencement speech (yeah, we’re excited about it, too).
We hope you’ll tune in on May 16, and we know you’re looking for ways to honor high school seniors in your community, too. That’s why we created the Graduate Together Virtual High School Graduation Toolkit.
HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS, #GRADUATETOGETHER IN YOUR COMMUNITY, TOO
That’s right; you can host your own virtual graduation ceremony, complete with musical performances, commencement speech(es), and more. You can even encourage your school community—including students, educators, families, community leaders, and more—to submit pictures and videos you can use to create a slideshow or video montage during your online event.
Planning the logistics of a virtual graduation ceremony is very similar to planning an in-person one, but with different tools. This can seem like an intimidating task, especially since many of us are only beginning to become familiar with the technology tools you’d use to plan an event like this. And that’s okay; it’s new for us, too.
We want you to feel confident because your high school seniors deserve to be recognized, and so does everyone who helped them reach this milestone moment. That’s why we created this step-by-step guide that can help.
The free Graduate Together Virtual High School Graduation Toolkit is a guide anyone can use to celebrate high school seniors in their community. It outlines everything from how to choose an online platform for your virtual graduation ceremony to inspirational ideas for no-tech celebratory activities that communities can enjoy while remaining socially distant.
This toolkit provides tips, resources, and inspiration to:
✅ Get Organized
✅ Plan Your Own Virtual Graduation Ceremony
✅ Create an Interactive Graduation Experience
✅ Manage Ceremony Logistics
✅ Organize Wrap-Around Experiences
There’s also information on how to ensure that your ceremony and celebrations are accessible to students and families with disabilities or limited access to wifi and devices.
Stay tuned for more information about how you can share what your local high school is doing to honor grades in your community.
IT’S TIME TO RETHINK HIGH SCHOOL TOGETHER
In the meantime, we want you to know we’re building a way for us to all stay connected as we rethink high school together. It all starts with a conversation.
That’s why we launched XQ’s Rethink Together Forum at RethinkTogether.com. It’s a place where high school students, educators, families—whole communities—can connect about what’s possible and learn from experts and one another.
Explore original content, an interactive resource library, thought-provoking conversations, and more. Topics include adulting and your future, health and wellness, school mission and culture, meaningful and engaged learning, youth voice and choice, and more.
HERE’S A PEEK AT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON THE FORUM:
- How High School Students Are Expressing Themselves While School Buildings Are Closed (for students)
- Engaging Students in Critical Thinking Around Civics, Government, and Representation (for educators)
- Maintaining Mental, Emotional, and Physical Well-Being With Your Teen (for families)
How is your school honoring this time-honored ceremony during school closures? Do you want to share how your school is keeping school traditions alive? Send an email to blog@xqinstitute.org.
SCHOOL CLOSURE RESOURCES:
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