Toronto Schools Won't Host In-Person Graduations This Year, Despite Ford Saying It's OK
"Months of planning have already gone into creating virtual graduations."
Premier Doug Ford gave Ontario schools the go-ahead to host in-person graduations this week, but the idea isn't exactly catching on in the GTA.
The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) and Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) both announced on Friday that they will still host virtual graduation ceremonies this year.
The school boards revealed that months of planning, as well as the uncertainty of when Ontario will enter step one, are some of the reasons they will keep their celebrations online.
"We are still uncertain as to whether Ontario can enter stage one of the reopening plans which only allows 10 people to gather outdoors," the TCDSB stated. "Toronto Public Health's recommendation remains focused on virtual celebrations for graduation. As such, all TCDSB schools will continue with existing plans for virtual graduations."
"Months of planning have already gone into creating virtual graduations for students, costs have already been incurred, and there is very limited time to plan in-person events of this size," TDSB also stated in a press release.
However, the TDSB stated that it will look into planning other in-person year-end activities, such as "students picking up belongings, dropping off devices/materials, saying goodbyes."