Many high school seniors in the Class of 2021 will be able to cross the stage to receive their hard-earned diplomas at in-person ceremonies in Santa Barbara County.
However, some local schools are finalizing plans as of this week.
The commencement ceremonies will be the final farewell before the graduates depart to the next chapter of their lives.
In-person graduation ceremonies will follow California’s coronavirus-related protocols, including people wearing masks in public, social distancing from others and capacity limits, among other public safety modifications.
The celebratory gatherings come after more than a year of distance instruction and high school seniors missing out on numerous memorable experiences and annual traditions amid the COVID-19 crisis.
The Santa Barbara Unified School District high schools will host in-person graduation ceremonies, with limited pre-approved guests, in May and in June.
Alta Vista Alternative and La Cuesta Continuation high schools will offer in-person graduation at 5 p.m. on May 28.
San Marcos will hand out diplomas to graduates at 5 p.m. on June 2, and both Santa Barbara and Dos Pueblos high schools will offer commencement ceremonies at 6 p.m. on June 2.
Details of information about graduation dates and times are posted on the online calendar at the bottom of the district’s homepage, sbunified.org.
Carpinteria High School will hold an in-person graduation at 6 p.m. June 10 at Carpinteria Valley Memorial Stadium on the campus at 4810 Foothill Road. It will be a traditional graduation with a specific number of tickets issued to each graduate for their immediate family only, Principal Gerardo Cornejo said.
In the North County, Santa Ynez Valley Union High School, at 2975 E. Highway 246, will host an in-person graduation ceremony at 4 p.m. June 4 at the school’s stadium.
Students will each receive five wristbands for their guests, said Alexa Tomasini, the school’s administrative assistant.
All guests will need to be pre-registered to attend the graduation ceremony, according to Tomasini.
Cabrillo and Lompoc high schools in the Lompoc Unified School District plan to hold in-person commencement ceremonies on June 10.
Currently, Lompoc High’s graduation is set for 12:30 p.m. on the school’s campus at 515 W. College Ave., and Cabrillo High’s graduation is at 2:30 p.m. on its campus at 4350 Constellation Road, said Brian Jaramillo, executive director of the district’s Education Services.
“Each student will be allowed a number of guests that will be determined prior to the event,” he told Noozhawk in an email. “Guests will be limited to sitting in a single household, and each household will be separated by at least six feet.”
The date and time may be altered if the county’s tier changes as part of the state’s four-level reopening framework.
If multiple ceremonies are needed because Santa Barbara County has moved back to the red tier from the less-restrictive orange tier under the Blueprint for a Safer Economy, there may be ceremonies on June 11 as well, Jaramillo said.
Students from Santa Maria Joint Union High School will turn their tassels during in-person ceremonies in June.
More than 1,800 high school seniors in the district will graduate this year, spokesman Kenny Klein said.
Each graduate will be able to invite two guests from their household, as per county Public Health Department guidelines and the district’s stadium capacities, he said. The graduations also will be livestreamed.
Delta High School’s commencement is scheduled for 2 p.m. June 10 at Santa Maria High School, 901 S. Broadway in Santa Maria.
Ernest Righetti High School will hold its graduation ceremony at 7 p.m. June 10 on campus at 941 E. Foster Road in Santa Maria.
At 10 a.m. June 11, the graduating class at Pioneer Valley High School will attend a commencement ceremony at the school’s Panther Stadium, at 675 Panther Drive in Santa Maria.
Graduation festivities for the Santa Maria High Class of 2021 will occur at 1 p.m. June 11 on campus.
District officials with the Cuyama Joint Unified School District did not reply to emails from Noozhawk requesting information on high school commencement events. The district includes Cuyama Valley High School and Sierra Madre Continuation High School.
Other commencement ceremonies for Santa Barbara County high schools include private schools.
Bishop Diego High School will offer in-person commencement ceremony, President Karen Regan said. School officials are figuring out details, such as location, to ensure capacity limits due to COVID-19 protocols.
Additional details will be available later this week, she said.
Bishop’s ceremony is traditionally held at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse Sunken Gardens.
Laguna Blanca School officials are still finalizing details, said Tara Broucqsault, the school’s director of communications.
Graduating seniors will receive their diplomas in-person during commencement at 4 p.m. June 11 on the school’s Hope Ranch campus, 4125 Paloma Drive, she said.
The actual location is still to be determined, Broucqsault said.
Last year, high schools in Santa Barbara County offered drive-through or virtual graduation ceremonies to commemorate the graduating class to comply with California’s rules and bans on large in-person gatherings.
— Noozhawk staff writer Brooke Holland can be reached at bholland@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
