Old Town High School plans for a physically distant graduation

OLD TOWN, Maine — This graduation season will be one to remember for the seniors at Old Town High School. 

With limited options for a customary graduation ceremony due to the coronavirus pandemic, Penobscot area school districts have made alternative arrangements to send off the Class of 2020. 

“We’re trying to give our graduates the best possible graduation as we can [while following health guidelines],” Old Town principal Scott Gordon said. 

The school will hold its ceremony on Friday on Dewitt Field at the Old Town Municipal Airport. 

Gordon initially planned to hold a ceremony in front of the high school, until parents of the graduating class offered to help organize an alternative celebration for their students. 

“So many people have stepped up,” he said. “I couldn’t have done what’s been done … without a pretty good army of people that I trust.” 

Each graduate will get two tickets for the ceremony so families from separate households can attend in their own vehicles. Graduates will ride in one of the cars with a parent. Students will be called to the stage in small groups to receive their diplomas while families watch from their vehicles, according to Gordon.

There are about 120 Old Town High School graduates this year, Gordon said, but not all may attend the ceremony. The school also plans to livestream the event so people can watch from home. 

After graduation exercises are held, a motorcade is planned. Directions are: from Dewitt Field at the airport, take a left to go down Gilman Falls, turn up Stillwater Avenue and end the parade at the high school. The graduates request the public line the roads in a safe way to support them, and cheer them on.