School district partners with city to hold outdoor graduation ceremonies for high schoolers

SAN FRANCISCO - Outdoor graduation ceremonies for high school students will resume in June, San Francisco city officials, along with the San Francisco Unified School District, said Tuesday.

Under the Graduations for All initiative, multiple graduations for some 4,000 public high school students across the district will take place over a three-day period, from June 1 to June 3, city officials said.

Graduations for schools with large graduating classes will be held at Kezar Stadium in Golden Gate Park, while graduations for smaller schools will be held at McAteer High School campus, in the city's Miraloma Park neighborhood.

In June 2020, schools held virtual graduation ceremonies for the first time as the COVID-19 pandemic had just begun over two months earlier.

This year's in-person graduation ceremonies will follow all local and state health mandates and will allow for a two-hour period for disinfection between school graduation ceremonies,.

In addition, students will be seated six feet apart. Students will also be given tickets for four family members, and families of up to four people will be seated together in groups, with each group being seated six feet apart, city officials said.

"Graduation is a special time for our students and their loved ones. I remember how exciting my own high school graduation was, and the joy and pride we all felt being able to cross the stage and get our diplomas in front of our friends and families," Mayor London Breed said in a statement.

"While this year has been anything but a normal senior year for our high school students, we're glad we can help bring some semblance of normalcy to this year's graduation ceremonies," she said.

"I'm so happy our seniors will be able to celebrate this important moment in their lives in the company of their teachers, peers and families," Superintendent Vincent Matthews said. "I'm grateful we have come together to find a way to safely mark this momentous occasion."

Although the district's high schools, as well as middle schools, have been closed for in-person learning for most students for more than a year, the district has committed to bringing all middle and high schoolers back for in-person learning by the fall.

Information about graduation ceremonies for individual schools can be found at www.sfusd.edu/2021graduation.