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Angered Saydel seniors, parents' voices are heard, will have in-person graduation

After getting an email about an in-person prom in June but finding out graduation would still be virtual, seniors and parents at Saydel High School brought the heat.

DES MOINES, Iowa — On April 27, Saydel High School seniors and their parents received an email from the school saying there would be an in-person prom for the senior class to be held on June 13.  

The very next day, they got another email saying that their graduation ceremony would not be held in person, but that it would be virtual.  With parents and seniors alike outraged, they had to get the district's attention.

In retaliation, they started a petition to hold an in-person graduation.  Their voices were heard.

"The school has contacted and sent an email out to all seniors and the parents stating that they are now hearing our voices and that on June 20, hopefully they can provide a physical graduation ceremony," Tim Anderson, a parent of a graduating Saydel senior, said.

And while the seniors are missing out on important spring activities, some of them, like Dalton Ballard, were asked by the principal to talk about the future of a virtual graduation.  Like many of his peers, he supported an in-person graduation.

"Just sit down, stare at a screen, and you might see your name, you might not, and they might talk about you," Ballard said.  "It just seems very removed from a lot of people."

But both Ballard and Anderson believe there are different options the school can take for the class of 2020.  Now that the decision has been made, parents and seniors hope school leaders will listen to their ideas to make graduation as safe as possible.

"One of the options I know I've discussed with parents, and some of the students, is holding a graduation in the middle of the football field and sending kids out there," Anderson said.  "Then maybe have the parents surround the chain link fence, safely."

The superintendent of Saydel schools, Todd Martin, says they now have a two-step plan for graduation, which includes a virtual event on the original date and the in-person event in June.

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