Pomp and circumstance to hit the road

If it were any other year, Port Washington High School graduates clad in green caps and gowns would file into the school gym as the band played “Pomp and Circumstance,” then take that proud walk across the stage to receive their diplomas on Sunday.

But this is the year of the pandemic, so Port High is taking its pomp and circumstance on the road with a graduation parade through downtown Port on June 7.

Beginning at 2 p.m., graduates, each in their own vehicle, will leave the high school and drive east on Van Buren Street, then south on Franklin Street through downtown before turning west on Grand Avenue.

Family members, friends and other well-wishers are expected to gather along the route to cheer the Class of 2020, although organizers are asking spectators to observe social distancing guidelines and stay out of the street so as not to distract drivers.

If all graduates participate, there could be about 200 vehicles in the parade.

The procession will end at North Milwaukee Street near Tello’s Grill and Cafe, where Port High staff members will be assembled to wish their former students well. 

Graduates, who will receive their diplomas and scholarship information before the parade, will then be able to watch a graduation video from home that features speeches from administrators, a commencement address delivered by the valedictorian and the class farewell. Graduates will be introduced as their photos are shown.

The graduation video will also include a message from Port Washington High School Principal Burke’s classmate and fellow 1986 Port High graduate Mike Hess, a NASA manager who oversees commercial space missions, including the May 30 launch of the manned SpaceX rocket.

Administrators grappled for weeks with how to recognize graduates at a time when school buildings are shuttered and mass gatherings would put people’s health at risk.

The parade, which has been planned in consultation with the Washington Ozaukee Public Health Department and Port Washington Police Department, is the best way to celebrate the accomplishments  of graduates while keeping them safe, administrators said.

“A parade on graduation day will offer a little closure for seniors,” Burke said. “It’s not perfect, but it will certainly be memorable.”

But several parents of graduates told the Port Washington-Saukville School Board last month that a parade shouldn’t take the place of a ceremony, even if that ceremony has to be held in August. 

“The kids need more closure with their friends, maybe even with just groups of 50 at a time,” Jodi Dowe, whose daughter is graduating, said during the May 11 school board meeting. “To take away their opportunity to walk across the stage will hurt.”

Alicia Bornhofer, the mother of a senior, said, “To receive a diploma through a car window is not the most creative and thoughtful way to do this.”

In response to parents, the board asked administrators to select a date for some sort of graduation gathering. That date, Burke said last week, is Sunday, Aug. 2, but it’s uncertain where the event will be held and what it will entail. Administrators are considering outdoor venues ranging from Veterans Park in Port to the high school football field.

“We’re not sure yet what the event will look like,” Burke said. “It would probably be more like a graduation party than a ceremony.”

It is also uncertain whether the school will be able to host a gathering of any sort.

“It will be predicated on the spread of the virus,” Supt. Michael Weber said. “I hope we’ll be able to do something in person.”