Hillcrest Academy has finalized  plans to celebrate their 18 seniors on June 14. The seniors and their immediate family members will be at the school for an official graduation ceremony with strict social distancing guidelines in place. Members of the public will not be able to attend this event, only seniors and four of their immediate family members will be allowed into the building for graduation. Principal Dwight Gingerich says this event will be recorded and posted online a few hours after the event, so the public can still enjoy the celebration remotely. 

Gingerich tells KCII News how members of the school district are feeling about the graduation ceremony, “We have some parents on our committee and the feedback they’re getting there as well, is just that people are excited to be able to be together to do this. The class has been troopers. Working through the last part of the year the way they have. It’s going to be really nice that they can be together this one last time after simply not being able to be together. We want to do the best we can by them and hoping for a very good event.” At the event, personal protective equipment and hand sanitizer will be provided, hand shakes will not be exchanged, and mask use will be required.