While the pandemic has thwarted plans for traditional graduation ceremonies, one Cobb high school will honor its seniors in a unique way.
Kell High School will host its Class of 2020 Bright Future Parade at 8:45 p.m. Wednesday on its northeast Cobb campus. High school seniors will socially distance by riding in their own vehicles, decorated for the parade with LED lights, glow sticks or anything that will be visible at night.
Seniors, who are encouraged to wear their caps and gowns, will begin lining up at 8:30 p.m. Once the parade begins and as students make their way through the route, they will approach a runway with LED lights. As the student drives across the area, their name and plans after graduation will be announced. As they roll through the area, a staff member will snap a picture of the student.
Kell Assistant Principal Ben Needle said the parade will honor the roughly 400 graduating seniors in a safe way. The parade is not open to the public, but limited to students, family members who may join them in their vehicles and staff members helping with the event. The parade will be live-streamed on Kell High School’s Facebook page at facebook.com/kellhighschool.
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Cobb County schools spokeswoman Nan Kiel said Kennesaw Mountain High School is planning to host a similar parade for seniors at 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 20.
Needle said Kell’s community partners have donated the items needed for the parade, which he said is all about celebrating the achievements of high school seniors.
“2020 has taught us that we have to be innovative when it comes to what celebration will look like for high school seniors,” he said.
The parade will mark the unofficial end to a “devastating” school year for Kell seniors, Needle said. Cobb County schools closed March 16 due to the coronavirus pandemic and replaced classroom lessons with digital learning. It was later decided that students would not return to campus before school ended on May 20. High school seniors who were planning their lives around prom and graduation have had their hopes dashed.
“It hurts to continually have things pulled away from you,” Needle said.
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One of those students hoping to celebrate graduation despite coronavirus is Eli Huey, an 18-year-old Kell senior. Eli said the closure has been difficult because he wasn’t able to finish the soccer season. Eli, who plans to study health science and play soccer at North Greenville University in the fall, said he hopes his fellow graduating seniors will participate in the parade.
“We need the spirit of the students to come out and be part of Longhorn nation,” he said, referring to the school’s mascot.
Eli’s mother, Kell PTSA co-president Kara Huey, said teachers and administrators have used the opportunity to continue showcasing the success of graduating seniors. The school’s marquee has featured several students and their academic and athletic achievements. She also said she’s used this moment to teach her son the importance of turning this frustrating experience into one that builds character.
“These 2020 grads were born around the time of 9/11 and they are graduating around COVID,” she said, “They are a group of students who are not defined by what happens in our culture and society.”
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