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To Whom It May Concern: 
 
I, Aaliyah Riddle, am writing this letter to address a recent announcement that has shook up the Knox County community, while also proposing possible solutions to this issue. 
 
On May 6, 2020 at 5:01pm students, parents, faculty, and administrators received an email that sparked an outrage across the city. Our graduation announcement. The letter vaguely describes what the summer holds for us in terms of celebration for our senior class. And, let's just say there won’t be much of one. Each school has to have their graduation on their football field? Not bad, nor is it hard to maintain. However, it was the next few statements that caused the uproar. No family or extra guests are allowed to attend. No “communal celebration”. Every student must get their diploma and immediately exit the school campus. The proposed ceremony successfully allows students to walk, however it fails to give students the proper recognition they deserve. This ceremony lacks both empathy and community input. In addition to this, this ceremony provides students with the ​BARE​ minimum. I strongly believe there's more that can be done while prioritizing health as well.  
 
Some of you may view this video and see your peers, your family, your co-workers. However, these students are Knox County. Here lies a student from almost every public high school in the county, describing why they deserve a proper graduation. These are just a handful of the hundreds of seniors we have in Knox County. Despite their stories being different, they all share three things in common. One, they are a proud future graduate of their high school , two they’ve worked hard for thirteen years to make it to this day, and three they long for more satisfaction from their ceremonies.  
 
In addition to the video, listed below are possible solutions other counties and cities in Tennessee have done that adhered with both social distancing guidelines and the idea of properly celebrating their seniors in mind. 
 Blount County: ​On April 24, 2020 Blount County released a statement saying they too would have their graduations at each high school’s football field, and on separate dates however they added they planned on ​“​seating families in every third row with graduates six feet apart and increasing the number of ceremonies to decrease the size of each gathering.” Greene County:​ ​Each student will have a ​ten minute section​ in the ceremony where they will walk across the stage and receive their diploma, up to ​ten family members can be present​. A videographer will record each student and put together a movie for each school to have. ​They have allotted each school a 3 day period to display all their graduates.  Hawkins County:​ ​Graduation ceremony will occur in small groups of students. Each student can ​bring 4 guests, but they must bring one car​. Students will get an assigned time. Each group will walk to the building, enter the gym and line up in socially distanced spaces​. There will be a​ location for the student and for guests.​ The students will walk across the stage, be announced, get their diploma cover and a picture with the principal or director of schools. After walking, students will pick up their final materials, then get in their cars and leave. Maryville:​ Four guests ​are allowed to attend, however they must​ comply with social distancing rules​. Also the service will be​ live streamed​ for anyone who was unable to attend. 
Memphis (Bartlett High): ​The graduation will take place in the school’s ​auditorium​. Each student will be allowed to bring a ​max of five family members. ​The school will bring in two small groups​ (determined by home room)​ of high schoolers every hour​ to prevent too big of a group in the auditorium at one time. Social distancing guidelines will be in place and the event will be live streamed. Their ceremony will last over the course of ​two days​.  Bristol, TN (Tennessee High):  ​Plans to still have a traditional graduation ​on July 24. Depending on the current status of COVID-19 in their city, ​the number of guests may be limited to ensure safety​. However their graduation will still include every component it would’ve had before COVID-19.  
 
These are just a few examples of different approaches counties have taken to have a SAFE​ and ​CELEBRATORY​ graduation. Along with these examples, when governor Bill Lee released graduation options he also proposed ideas that would offer more to students and families than the one Knox County released.  
 
Some of these ideas included:  
 Individualized ceremony:​ ​Students will arrive in ​small groups ​and walk in front of their school. ​Parents​ will be allowed to ​walk on the side walk or drive in cars​ to take pictures as their students walk.  Football stadiums or larger arenas:​ Every school would be allowed to have a certain number of guests to accommodate seating space. This ​number of guests would depend on how large  each school’s bleacher, auditorium, or gym seating section is.​ Families would be seated in every third row, while ​graduates would be required to sit six feet apart​. Increase the number and decrease the size:​ Schools would​ have a series of small ceremonies in the same venue.​ These ceremonies could take place all in the same day, just different time increments or the same allotted time period on separate days. Any speeches or performances could be pre-recorded and played each day. While, the event is also videotaped and made into a movie for every family to have.  
 
 When taking the above statements into consideration, I strongly believe there are other safe approaches Knox County can take to allow families and friends to be a part of senior graduations. 
 
Using Superintendent Bob Thomas’ original approach, we could simply: 1. Allow students to bring 2-6 guests that would sit three rows apart in the bleachers. 2. Separate students by alphabet and allow certain groups of students to go at different times of the day, while allowing their family members to attend. - For example: A-C would take place from 11:00-12:00 - D-F would take place from 12:30-1:30 - G-I would take place from 2:00-3:00 - J-L would take place from 3:30-4:30 - M-O would take place from 5:00-6:00 So on and so forth! 
3. Allow ​two additional guests​ to sit with their graduate on the field and have every graduate sit six feet apart from one another. 4. Each​ individual student​ will have an ​allotted time period​ (for example 5-10 minutes) to visit their football field and walk while their ​guests (2-10)​ accompany them.  5. Spread each school’s graduation out over the course of ​3 days​ to maintain a small group setting while also ensuring an organizational structure is kept. - For example, students last name A-J would have a ceremony on July 28th from 5:00-7:00 - Students last name K-S  would have a ceremony July 29th from 5:00-7:00 - Students last name T-Z would have a ceremony July 30th from 5:00-7:00 
 
These feasible solutions could also include live streaming, videotaping, and photographing to ensure the memories are captured and other community members are able to feel included in the graduation ceremonies.  
 
Also, keep in mind if one of the multi-day or separate time options was chosen there would be room to record and play back sections of the ceremony that would otherwise be missed. Examples include: - Valedictorian speech - Salutatorian speech - Dance performances - Choir performances - Class or community tributes 
 
Graduation is one of the most significant memories in a person’s life. Graduation represents the turning of a new leaf. The start of a new chapter. Accomplishments, hardships, and perseverance all represented by a toss of a cap. It is the day the top GPAs of classes are recognized. The day every senior--no matter race, financial situation, or gender is praised.  
 
Graduation is the day we tell our parents we did it. We thank our teachers for helping us along the way. We express our gratitude for all the mentors we gained, the bonds we formed, and the friendships we will forever carry with us. 
 
We don't just graduate for us. We graduate for our moms, our dads, our siblings both young and old. We graduate for our lost loved ones, who are smiling down on us. We graduate for everyone who said we wouldn’t. We graduate for those who couldn’t.  
 
Aside from simply being a pivotal moment, graduation is a sign of completion. Once we’ve graduated--we made it. 
 
Our families deserve to see us walk. Our mentors deserve to see us walk. Our community members deserve to see us walk. Our future bosses deserve to see us walk. We deserve to see eachother walk. 
We deserve a proper GRADUATION. 
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