Dr. David Hopson
The complexity of holding an administrative leadership position, whether in public or private, town government, or school governance, is growing as quickly as the regulations and protocols we’re all forced to follow. Between the almost innumerable mandates (which we’ll address in another column), the increasing demands of constituents, and the difficulty of finding adequate funding, it’s almost become a perfect storm.
As I sit writing this on the Friday of Gateway’s graduation, watching the rain come down steadily, I’m fairly certain that most people don’t understand the complexity of just moving graduation indoors. At least this year, the decision to cancel outside graduation was simple and hard to argue with – a steady rain, a drenched soccer field, warnings of torrential rain and increasing winds during the time of the commencement exercises, and the problem of getting equipment ready under these conditions were all strong arguments for moving inside.
However that simple decision leads to a whole new set of problems – none insurmountable but all requiring decisions, actions, and additional preparations. Thankfully, the district has an excellent working relationship with local police, staff are ready to step up to the plate to ensure everything gets done, and we have the equipment and systems in place to hold graduation and let everyone know of the changes before they arrive on campus.
What are some of these issues? How do we get people into the building and to the correct area in a safe, quick, and organized fashion to avoid long lines of people standing outside in less than ideal weather? Couple this with the fact that, due to the limited seating in the Performing Arts Center, each family of a graduate had a limited number of tickets for seating and, with the auditorium essentially ‘sold out’, we must control access to only those individuals with tickets. To accommodate those who don’t fit in the auditorium, we also have to divert people without tickets to a secondary viewing area, provide a live feed with sound and video to that location, and ensure this is done efficiently. Now we’re not just dealing with traffic flow, we’re also dealing with setting up cameras and microphones, getting the feed into other areas, providing the ability to view and hear the live feed, and tying it all together to flow seamlessly.
The district also has to let folks know of these changes both before they come, and as they arrive; they have to be directed effectively to avoid bottlenecks, provide additional parking for the handicapped and an easy route for access to the building for everyone, and of course egress at the end of the ceremonies. At the same time, we still have all of the usual activities occurring as schools are in session, the diplomas and other items have to be organized, and the program and details all have to come together in just the right sequence.
The high school administration, secretarial staff, and class advisors all did a great job of getting all of the “i’s” dotted and “t’s” crossed. I’m also appreciative of the other administrators that stepped up to complete the additional tasks required by moving inside, the Huntington Police for assisting in the planning and implementation phases (it’s great to be able to just have to revise other plans already developed through efforts of the Gateway Regional Emergency Advisory Team), our technology department and our student technicians for setting up the cameras, sound, and live feed, the maintenance staff for arranging the physical plant to accommodate the event, and all of the other staff who went above and beyond to make this happen for the Class of 2013.
I would also be remiss for not mentioning that our students – members of the band and chorus, the graduating seniors, and the others that helped in the commencement activities – did a great job of adjusting to the change and making it all work. As with the graduates selected song, “Don’t Blink” – life goes faster than you think (Kenny Chesney), for the class of 2013 their years in high school flew by. Overall, I would say that the ceremony was a great success and was a wonderful way to send our graduates on their way from Gateway and into the world.
