The announcement....clearly I was out-voted (I didn't want to gather, for safety!)

Commencement Update Parents of the Class of 2020, We are pleased to announce our plan to honor the Class of 2020. As you know, we collected feedback this past week from both parents and students. We received an incredible response from students and families. The results of this survey are attached here: Parent Survey Student Survey It is clear from the results of the survey that both parents and students want to find a way to celebrate with a traditional commencement ceremony at a time when the COVID-19 restrictions on gatherings are lifted. It is also clear to us that alternate formats need to be available in the event that closures continue due to this pandemic. One change we have made since collecting survey feedback, individual contacts, and reviewing state and federal guidelines/projections is to move the first date to June 27, 2020. We believe this will allow us the greatest likelihood of being able to move forward with the ceremony at Hilton Coliseum. As a result, we developed the following plan to celebrate the commencement of the Class of 2020! June 27, 2020 10:00 a.m. Ankeny High School 1:00 p.m. Ankeny Centennial High School Hilton Coliseum, Ames, IA OR July 25 (26), 2020 Should the government restrictions on gatherings not be lifted by the end of June, Saturday, July 25 will serve as the backup date. We will notify you by June 24 if we need to switch to the July date. If we are unable to have the ceremony on July 25 due to weather, we will have the ceremony on July 26. 10:00 a.m. Ankeny High School (1:00 p.m. on July 26) 1:00 p.m. Ankeny Centennial High School (4:00 p.m. on July 26) Ankeny Stadium, Northview Middle School, Ankeny, Iowa AND Virtual Commencement Ceremony A video will be available as a backup for an in-person commencement ceremony. This video will be distributed following an in-person commencement or in place of it should the three other dates not work out. As part of the virtual commencement video, we will be collecting information to create personalized slides for each student. You and your student will receive additional information about how to submit this information in the near future. We are working hard to prepare for these options and provide the Ankeny commencement experience. We are committed to making it a special memory for the Class of 2020 and their families. We have several other traditional ways we celebrate seniors' final year with Ankeny Schools: Senior Signing Nights: Our activities directors are moving forward with virtual senior signing nights. These celebrations will be shared in the following ways: AHS: Virtual Event on May 6 via Facebook Live at 6:30 p.m. ACHS: Virtual Event on  May 6 via Facebook Live at 6:30 p.m. Senior Spotlight Night: We will be holding virtual senior spotlight nights as well to honor our class of 2020. These celebrations will be shared in the following ways: AHS: Video distributed on May 26, 7:00 p.m. ACHS: Video distributed on  May 26, 7:00 p.m. We have also added another way to celebrate the Class of 2020 since our school closure has not allowed our staff to send them off in person this spring: Yard Signs: Between May 16 and May 24th each student in the Class of 2020 will receive yard signs celebrating their commencement.  These yard signs will be delivered by members of our high school staff. In addition to their academic careers, these past months have taught the Class of 2020 resilience in the face of adversity and we are confident in sending them off to their future success. Thank you for partnering with us as we celebrate the thirteen years of work these students have put in to reach this milestone. Ankeny Community School District