Manassas first in region to announce in-person high school graduation

Manassas City Public Schools is the first school district in our region to announce a rescheduled, in-person graduation date since the coronavirus outbreak abruptly ended the academic school year last month. 

Osbourn High School’s graduation ceremony will take place on July 18 in the school stadium at 9 a.m. Originally, it was scheduled for May 27 at the Eagle Bank Arena on George Mason University Campus in Fairfax. 

“We will reassess and reach out in late May as things become more clear as to what we can expect from the summer,” Osbourn High Principal Michael Pflugrath told Potomac Local News. 

Osbourn HS graduation ceremony is now scheduled for July 18th at 9 am at Osbourn HS stadium. Providing the distinguished ceremony our Seniors deserve. Student safety is our top priority. #OneOsbourn @mymcpsva @OHS_AfterProm @ohsclass2020 @OHSCounseling_

— Mike Pflugrath (@OsbournPrin) April 10, 2020

Potomac Local News asked if families were going to be allowed to see the ceremony if temperatures would have to be taken, and if there was a contingency plan to reschedule the ceremony should the virus outbreak persist. School officials said they don’t yet have specific answers to those questions.

“At this point, it’s still early,” said Manassas schools spokeswoman Al Radford.

As for grading, and how the school division will finish out the rest of the canceled academic year, no more grades from fourth-quarter distance learning will be calculated, according to schools superintendent Dr. Kevin Newman. 

Students’ final grades will be an average of the first three quarters, he said.

Students in seventh to twelfth grades may opt to take a pass/fail credit for a class which means it will not be calculated in the final GPA. 

From now until May 1, students will have the option to reattempt assignments to raise third-quarter grades. 

May 29 will still act as the last day of the school year, and final grades will be available around that time period, Newman announced.

For kindergarten through second-grade students, their final mark will be based on their performance through March 13. 

Feedback from teachers and principals was used to outline these grading requirements.

“Our goal was to find a solution that would provide an opportunity for our students to demonstrate mastery and for the improvement of grades,” Superintendent Kevin Newman said in a statement to parents.