Dear Families of the Class of 2020 and Candidates for Graduation,
Last week, I sent you a letter regarding the decision to hold virtual graduations due to the COVID19 pandemic. This letter is an acknowledgment of the requests we have received from some families to consider alternative graduation ceremonies such as drive-through graduations and/or drive-throughs where there would be an exchange of textbooks for diplomas.
Since March 2020, Santa Clara County has been the epicenter of the COVID19 health crisis in the Bay Area. As of today, 2,231 people have tested positive with the virus and 115 people have died. 140 people are hospitalized with COVID19 in the County and 42 people in Gilroy have tested positive for the virus. For this reason, our County has taken some of the strongest measures in California to prevent further spread of the virus and deaths.
For almost two months, the 31 superintendents in our county have met bi-weekly as a group with the Superintendent of the Santa Clara County Office of Education, representatives of the Public Health Department and representatives of the Santa Clara County Emergency Operations Center which includes the County’s legal counsel. As a collective group, we have discussed this year’s graduation ceremonies including requests to hold drive-through graduations. These requests were denied by County counsel as a clear violation of the shelter-in-place order, and as a result the superintendents in Santa Clara County have all agreed that holding virtual graduations is the only option. I also sought the opinion of our own legal counsel regarding drive-through graduations or any other type of graduation that would involve organizing large groups of people. Our attorney’s opinion is that GUSD must follow the directives of the Santa Clara County Health Officer with respect to graduation activities.
The health and safety of our students, families and staff members remains our top priority. It would be irresponsible to ignore the orders of the Public Health Department to hold in-person graduation ceremonies, despite our deep desire to celebrate the achievements of the Class of 2020 with the Gilroy community. As I shared with you in my letter to you last week, the Gilroy Unified School District will follow the protocol established by the Public Health Department, and agreed upon by all superintendents in Santa Clara County in partnership with the Santa Clara County Office of Education, by holding virtual graduations for our four high schools. I understand how difficult this decision is for you and your families, and I wish we could celebrate the accomplishments of this group of seniors who have worked so hard to reach this milestone.
I want to acknowledge the members of our community who have stepped forward to create special memories for the Class of 2020. I have seen signs in front yards throughout our community celebrating seniors, and t-shirts created for the Class of 2020 at all four of our high schools. There is an “Adopt-a-Senior” program on social media connecting our candidates for graduation with members of the community who want to acknowledge their achievements and accomplishments. Our local newspapers are planning to highlight our graduating seniors in the weeks to come, and Bay Area news stations are highlighting the accomplishments of graduating seniors throughout Northern California. I am inspired by the creativity and care shown by Gilroy, but I’m not surprised. If this year has shown me anything, it is that this community will band together to show support and love in times when we need it most. I know that more creativity will come forward in the weeks to come, and I am grateful for that as well.
At this point, I want to encourage you all to keep looking forward. While the end of this year is anything but typical, we are still trying hard to make the memories of graduation positive for our students, families and staff members. I am asking for your help in doing so.
I am grateful for your patience and understanding as we work to create an entirely new graduation ceremony for the Class of 2020. While this is not the way we anticipated celebrating graduation for our seniors, it is our reality at this point in time. I wish that we could be together at each of our four high schools on the day of graduation, to shake the hands of all of our candidates and share with them my best wishes for their future endeavors. These four days are some of my favorites every year. I am thinking of each of you and hoping for peace for you as you come to terms with our district’s plans for graduation. We will do our very best to provide a celebration worthy of the Class of 2020.
Thank you,
Dr. Deborah A. Flores, Ph.D.
Superintendent, Gilroy Unified School District