DUKE CENTER — With the school year drawing to an end, Otto-Eldred School District administrators have been making plans for indoor graduation and prom events for students.
Superintendent Matthew Splain said the school district began revising plans after Gov. Tom Wolf’s announcement last week that indoor and outdoor gatherings, capacities limits and outdoor gatherings, in compliance with COVID-19 mandates, would be lifted by May 31.
Splain said at this point, the school district plans to hold graduation ceremonies on June 4 in the auditorium of the high school.
“We’re hopeful to be able to do (the indoor commencement), I think we can accommodate families as we had done in the past,” Splain said, “Our class size (of 50) isn’t huge so we would be able to fit 300 in our auditorium easily.”
He said the district has worked with its HVAC contractors to install a new ionizing filtration system in the auditorium to filtrate the air. A number of school districts are using federal funds provided for pandemic needs to install the filtration systems in classrooms and other areas on campuses.
“It’s something that (school districts) will install in classrooms and large space areas in buildings,” he explained. “It will kill bacteria — it’s pretty neat technology.”
He said prior to the governor’s announcement, the district’s first plan was to conduct the graduation on the football field.
“We didn’t have anything last year for a formal ceremony, so knowing this change occurred, we wanted to give the kids something formal and appropriate,” he added, noting masks will be required. “This is quite an accomplishment and we wanted to recognize that and give them the best (ceremony) possible.”
As for the prom, slated for May 22, Splain said the in-person event will be for juniors and seniors and will be spread out to three areas in the high school and will follow COVID-19 mandates.
In commenting on other programs in the district, Splain said administrators and staff are organizing a summer program.
“This will be a traditional summer school opportunity for kids,” he continued. “If they need something (in the manner of academic help) we can offer it.”
In addition to this, the district plans to offer theme-based summer camps for children in grades kindergarten through eighth grade. The events will be held on the grounds of the schools.
“We’ve got a week where they’re building rocket ships, and there are probably a dozen different activities, too,” he remarked. “All of them will have an (English Language Arts,) math and physical education component to them. We want to bring the fun back into it … and keep them active in academics.”
On a final note, Splain said the school district’s next board meeting will be held online at 6:30 p.m. May 18.
