Graduation march, visits to former buildings to remain tradition at Highlands

The traditional “Pomp and Circumstance” graduation march by Highlands seniors will continue, albeit slightly modified.

At the district school board meeting Monday, Superintendent Monique Mawhinney addressed rumors circulating about potential changes to commencement exercises, scheduled for June 3 at Golden Rams Stadium.

Among the rumors:

• The district is doing away with the slow-moving march in favor of a straightforward walk. That’s not the case, Mawhinney said.

• Students will no longer take part in a year-end tradition of walking the halls at the elementary and middle schools to talk to younger students and visit former teachers. That’s not true, either, Mawhinney said.

• Students will line up at commencement alphabetically rather than by height, which is a long-standing district tradition that allows for girls and boys to march alternately with their brown and gold caps and gowns.

That last one is true.

Mawhinney said high school administrators made the decision to use an alphabetical lineup, and that change will stand.

“Everything else remains (the same),” Mawhinney said.

“I usually don’t respond to public comment (at board meetings), but I want to address this,” Mawhinney said. “You will still be marching, and you will still be visiting former buildings. The students have made it very clear that that’s important to them.”

Student Alli Love, a senior class officer, gave a passionate speech to the board about why students feel strongly about keeping the traditions in place.

“After 13 years of working toward our goal, we would be disappointed with losing these,” Love said. “The march sets our district apart and is a special event to remember fondly.”

Some of the graduating seniors attended elementary school at Heights or Fawn, two buildings that have since closed. But most of the graduating class has spent time at Highlands Elementary, the consolidated school in Tarentum and Highlands Middle School in Harrison.

“We want to pay gratitude to our former educators, and seeing us acts as an inspiration for the younger students,” Love said.

With 148 students in the graduating class — one of the smallest ever — Love argued that the slow-moving march would not take as much time as in previous years.

Lining up by height, she argued, makes more sense visually. And because the graduation list is printed ahead of time, families are aware of where their student is expected in the procession.

Parents have ample time to take photos, and there is a professional photographer who gets a shot of each student receiving their diploma, she said.

Love told the board “we are not opposed to change” and added that students have faced significant obstacles in pandemic years with virtual classes and social distancing.

“All we want is to end our high school years with familiarity,” she said.