Click the image to watch the video message to the Class of 2020 or read the message below.
April 24, 2020
Dear Reynoldsburg High School Families of the Class of 2020,
On Wednesday, we unveiled plans to host a Virtual Graduation due to the restrictions placed on the state of Ohio as a result of the coronavirus. I wanted to personally address the feedback we received when we announced our initial plans. Seniors and parents of seniors charged us to attempt to be more creative and that’s what we did. Please be sure to read the entire message before you react.
Before sharing the updates to our graduation, I think it is important that we understand our current reality. We are in the midst of a global pandemic that has killed over 50,000 people in the United States. As a result, we needed to make measures that prohibit mass gatherings. Here are just a few of the reasons why we made the choice to do a Virtual Graduation and I’ll also explain some extra things we will do to make the exercises as special as possible.
1. Governor Mike DeWine specifically decreed an order to refrain from having mass gatherings. To hold a traditional graduation exercise would blatantly ignore that order bringing negative attention and potential consequences to the District that I am bound to protect. Such an event would also warrant encouraging upwards of 400 people to gather in one space (all be it a large space), but it is a gathering nonetheless. The viability of hosting such an event is not physically possible as we cannot sanitize and clean every single of inch of the stadium or any facility in order to accommodate a rotation of four different groups of students and adults in succession. That is a risk that our District cannot and will not take.
2. My job is the protect the District and our students from harm. In the event that we decided to ignore the Governor’s order and hosted a mass gathering, and someone happened to get infected and die as a result, the District could be liable for such a consequence. That is a risk that we medically, financially, and liability-wise cannot and will not take.
3. Finally, such an action would bring warranted public scrutiny of my decisions. I, and no one else, would be in front of the media attempting to justify taking actions that we have been ordered not to take and actions that I do not condone. That is a risk that I personally cannot and will not take.
Now, for the good news!As I mentioned in my video message yesterday, we have been hard at work to give the Class of 2020 some semblance of a true graduation exercise. There are several things in the works. First, as we shared on Wednesday, a Virtual Graduation will be held on Saturday, June 6, 2020 at 3:00 p.m.Some elements of this Virtual Graduation will include:• It will be free to view as many times as you wish• We will still have a Keynote and the Class Speakers• You will be able to do a personalized 15-20 second clip of how you would like to be remembered as a Reynoldsburg High School senior.But there’s more!As mentioned Wednesday, you will receive a gift from the District. We are arranging for all seniors to take an individual senior portrait in your caps and gowns at a school location at no cost. A professional photographer will be on hand to take your pictures. During that time, you will also be able to do a traditional Graduation Walk! We will have a stage set up in the football stadium where individual seniors will walk in their caps and gowns while we play “Pomp and Circumstance,” receive their diplomas, and be recognized by their Academy Principals.We will have more information about the logistics soon. While there will not be an audience due to social distancing, seniors will be permitted to bring up to four people (parents, grandparents, relatives, etc.) to take your picture with you. They will be invited to be on the football field to greet you as you come off of the stage.More information about picking up your caps and gowns, portrait appointments, and other senior celebrations/events will be sent in the coming days from me, your Academy Principals, and your grad advisors. If you have any questions, please contact your Academy Principal.We know this is not the graduation that any of us envisioned, but we are trying to make the best of a truly bad situation and send you off in style and excitement. I appreciate your grace, patience and professionalism and I look forward to seeing you emerge, after all of this, as a high school graduate. We love you! We miss you! And we cannot wait to see you. Please stay safe and healthy and always #REYNProud.Sincerely, 
Melvin J. BrownSuperintendentReynoldsburg City Schools