After consideration of public input, the Rock Springs High School Administration has recommended Friday May 24, 2019 as the next graduation day to District Superintendent Kelly McGovern.
Past and current district practice has included all Sweetwater Number One High School Administrators recommending a graduation date for their respective buildings to the Superintendent during the summer.
These approved dates have then moved forward to the Sweetwater School District Number One Board of Trustees as a non-actionable, informational item.
This year, after the initial selection was proposed, the Rock Springs High School and district administration received a number of questions and concerns from the public.
In response to these concerns, Rock Springs High School and the district felt it was in the best interest to open up opportunities for feedback and to clarify the factors impacting date selection.
Feedback was collected through email shared on the district webpage, two public forums and a student survey.
Additional feedback was received through phone calls, letters and one-on-one conversations.
Information was available at both forums, the District and school webpages, Facebook pages and sent through the SchoolWay app.
Rock Springs High School Administration and the district carefully evaluated the information obtained.
The timing of the notification of the graduation date impacted a considerable number of families who reported already having made plans, including travel and entertainment/venue arrangements for the assumed graduation weekend.
This universal concern focused the discussion on the timeframe surrounding Memorial Day and led the High School Administration to recommend and the Superintendent to approve Friday, May 24, 2019 at 10:00 a.m. as this year’s graduation date and time for Rock Springs High School.
This date honors the needs expressed by families, the district’s contract employees, and aligns with the student survey results.
In response to the community concern regarding the timing of the announcement, Rock Springs High School Administration will begin reviewing potential dates after the Board of Trustees approves the school calendars for the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school year.
The process of recommendation by high school administrators, approval by the superintendent and notifying the board of trustees with an informational item will remain the same.
Every effort will be made on the part of Rock Springs High School Administration and the district to publicly announce the 2020 graduation date as early as possible, allowing families to plan for this milestone event.
The district appreciates the input of all those involved during this process.
