High school seniors protest Kent School District's plan for drive-thru graduations

The Class of 2021 from all four high schools joined together Wednesday, calling for a real, in-person graduation ceremony.

KENT, Wash. - High school seniors at one local district are protesting plans of a drive-thru graduation ceremony. Dozens of students and parents rallied outside of Kent School District headquarters, Wednesday.

"What do we want guys? A graduation! When do we want it? Now!" chanted the crowd.

The Class of 2021 from all four high schools joined together calling for a real, in-person graduation ceremony.

"I want to be with all my friends. And have one last hoorah to celebrate with everyone. All the hard work we put in the past 13 years to drive in a car like you’re going to McDonalds...I don’t see much coming out of that," said Jessica Davis, a senior at Kentridge High School.

"I’ve always imagined walking with my best friend from kindergarten walking next to each other and celebrating. Throwing our caps in the air celebrating our whole class together," said Ally Haisch, a senior at Kentridge High School.

The district planned to hold graduation parades for students. The idea is similar to last year’s drive-thru ceremonies during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"There’s no reason to make another class suffer the way that the poor Class of 2020 had to," said Vishnu Ramaswamy, senior at Kentridge High School. "Vaccinations are going up, our state’s opening up. And so I think we should move with the times in that sense."

Other districts in King County and throughout Washington will have as close to traditional ceremonies as possible that will be held outdoors with limited guests and safety measures.

"My college roommate goes to Eastlake in Lake Washington School District and he’s getting a super cool graduation at T-Mobile Park. And maybe that district has a bit more money, but we have a field where we could get a pretty solid graduation ourselves. And it would really sting to spend another year driving up, grabbing a diploma and driving away. That’s just not what graduation is. I understood it last year, I don’t understand it this year," said Ramaswamy.

During the last few months of planning, the district said it considered using French Field at Kent Meridian High School as a possible outdoor venue. However, officials said capacity there is limited per the Washington State Department of Health guidelines.

Some students expressed frustrations about their voices not being heard during in graduation planning. They claimed there was no response from district leaders after several phone calls and emails over the last few months.

"It just kills our motivation for school. So with the perseverance that we’re still here, I think we deserve a ceremony," said Stemar Moleno, a senior at Kentwood High School.

District graduations are scheduled for June.

High school seniors in Kent pushing for traditional graduation ceremony

Students and parent will hold a rally on Wednesday to make their voices heard. The school board will have a graduation discussion at its meeting that same night.

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