Things aren’t back to normal, but Anne Arundel County officials are moving forward with a plan that will allow high school seniors to graduate this year with some friends and family in attendance.
Anne Arundel County Public Schools will hold 2021’s graduation ceremonies at Crofton High School and its outdoor stadium starting June 7. The plan is for up to three ceremonies in one day.
In a letter to students, Superintendent George Arlotto noted Crofton’s available space “maximizes the number of family members that can be accommodated, given capacity restrictions at other entertainment and athletic venues.”
He elaborated on the plan at Wednesday night’s board meeting.
“We are very excited to host the commencement exercises at Crofton High School and celebrate the class of 2021,” Arlotto said. “At the current capacity limit, each school will distribute two tickets for family or guest for each graduate. Should the capacity limits increase, we will reconsider the number of tickets per graduate accordingly.”
Times for each event haven’t been determined yet, in part because Crofton High School will still be in session when the ceremonies begin. Because each ceremony will be held outdoors, Arlotto said rain dates will be built into the schedule in case of inclement weather.
The original plan was to hold the ceremonies at the Live! Casino and Hotel at Arundel Mills, but those plans were scuttled earlier this week because limited seating would not have allowed for guests.
Crofton High is the county’s newest high school, having opened its doors in September. That means that the school hosting all the other high school graduation ceremonies will not have graduating seniors itself — this year, only ninth and 10th graders began attending Crofton.
High school juniors and seniors who otherwise live in the school’s newly-created boundaries currently attend Arundel and South River high schools. The first seniors to graduate from Crofton will be part of the class of 2023.
