As temperatures soar to scorching highs in San Antonio, local education officials are taking proactive measures to ensure the safety of students and families during high school graduation ceremonies. The San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD) announced on their website that they are moving the final graduation events for three of its high schools indoors, escaping the heat expected to tip the scales at around 100 degrees.
The decision to shift venues from the open-air Alamo Stadium to the cooler confines of the Alamo Convocation Center was determined for the safety of our graduates and guests. This comes in the wake of several school campuses shutting down last week due to air conditioning system failures amidst an excessive heat warning from the National Weather Service. Students and teachers, however, managed to return to school for the last days of the academic year.
According to the San Antonio Report, the schedule for relocated ceremonies is as follows: Brackenridge High School on June 4 at 8 p.m., Sam Houston High School on June 7 at 8 p.m., and Highlands High School on June 8 at 8 p.m. Each of these schools' graduates will have to contend with a limited ticket allocation due to the size of the indoor venue, with Brackenridge graduates receiving 10 tickets each, while Sam Houston and Highlands high school graduates are given 15 tickets per student, as stated by SAISD spokesman Maury Vasquez.
Furthermore, Edgewood Independent School District is also adjusting to the blazing weather by delaying the commencement start times by 30 minutes. The altered times now stand at 8:30 p.m., with the gates of Edgewood Veterans Stadium slated to open at 7:15 p.m., in hopes that later hours may offer respite from the day's peak temperatures. This change, the San Antonio Report notes, applies to ceremonies happening on Wednesday and Thursday.
