Wake high school graduations return to downtown Raleigh. Here’s the schedule.
Wake County high school graduations are returning to downtown Raleigh this spring after having been held on school campuses the past two years due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Most of the Wake County school system’s 34 high school graduation ceremonies this spring will be held at either the Raleigh Convention Center or Meymandi Hall. Those two downtown Raleigh locations haven’t been used the past two graduation seasons due to the pandemic that forced schools to come up with alternative ways to honor their graduating seniors.
“We are excited about these events,” Brian Pittman, senior director for high school programs, told the school board’s student achievement committee on Monday. “More importantly, we are very excited about the thousands of personal stories and journeys that their ceremony represents.”
Superintendent Cathy Moore told school board members on Monday that the district may also revisit the issue of allowing high schools to have graduations on their own campus.
COVID changed graduation plans
The Wake County school system has historically centralized the graduation process to have only indoor ceremonies at a few sites, mostly in downtown Raleigh. Prior to the pandemic, Broughton High School in Raleigh was the only district school that held its graduation on campus.
But when North Carolina reduced capacity limits in 2020 due to COVID-19 concerns, Wake canceled the use of the large downtown venues. High schools switched to drive-through graduation ceremonies or timed individual walk-throughs.
The COVID rules were eased enough by last spring to allow most high schools to hold a large outdoor graduation ceremony at their football stadium. Some schools still cited COVID concerns and divided up the graduates to hold several ceremonies instead of a single event.
“We have to take time to thank all of our staff and the families for the last few years during the pandemic for the innovative graduations that we’ve had and to acknowledge that this Class of 2022 has had three of their four years in high school impacted by the pandemic,” said school board member Christine Kushner.
“They truly need to be celebrated and I’m excited that they’ll get a full-on graduation schedule.”
Allow time for traffic and parking
Each Wake high school will hold one large indoor ceremony this year. Of the 34 ceremonies, 21 will be held at the Raleigh Convention Center and nine at Meymandi Hall.
The school system will also hold graduations at Reynolds Coliseum on N.C. State University’s campus for the first time since 2008. Since then, Reynolds has undergone $35 million in upgrades, such as the installation of an air-conditioning system.
The early colleges and modified-calendar high schools will hold graduations in May because their school year ends earlier. The bulk of Wake’s high schools, which follow the traditional calendar, will hold graduations during six days in June.
Wake had planned in 2020 to shorten the length of the June graduations to four days by extensively using both Reynolds Coliseum and the downtown Raleigh locations. But Wake only has Reynolds for two ceremonies in May this year.
The heavy traffic in downtown Raleigh has historically been a challenge for families and guests of graduates. Wake is advising people to plan ahead and allow significant time for traffic and parking.
Traffic may be less of a problem this year because more people are working from home instead of traveling to work in downtown Raleigh.
Return to on-campus graduations?
Kushner asked Moore, the superintendent, if the district could look at using Reynolds Coliseum more in future years. Kushner said that some parents have found that seating is easier at Reynolds than at the Convention Center.
Moore said they may have to use Reynolds and on-campus graduations more in the future given how it’s become more difficult for the district to book the Convention Center.
“We’re going to have to look at additional options moving forward,” Moore said. “We may have to revisit whether or not some of our schools want to permanently move to things at their school site location, which might it make easier for schools and make it more difficult for the dignitaries that have to attend. But that’s not who the graduation is for.”
Wake County 2022 graduation schedule
Here’s the schedule for the Wake County school system’s 2022 graduations:
Friday, May 20
▪ Wake Young Men’s Leadership Academy and Wake Young Women’s Leadership Academy, Meymandi Hall, 9 a.m.
Tuesday, May 24
▪ Wake STEM Early College, Meymandi Hall, 10 a.m.
▪ Vernon Malone College and Career Academy, Meymandi Hall, 2 p.m.
▪ North Wake College and Career Academy, Meymandi Hall, 5 p.m.
▪ Wake Early College of Health and Sciences, Meymandi Hall, 8 p.m.
Wednesday, May 25
▪ Knightdale High School, Reynolds Coliseum, 7 p.m.
Friday, May 27
▪ Southeast Raleigh High School, Reynolds Coliseum, 7 p.m.
Friday, June 10
▪ Broughton High School, Holliday Gym, 10 a.m.
▪ Project SEARCH, Embassy Suites RTP, 5 p.m
▪ Sanderson High School, Raleigh Convention Center, 8 p.m.
Saturday, June 11
▪ Holly Springs High School, Raleigh Convention Center, 8 a.m.
▪ Athens Drive High School, Raleigh Convention Center, 12 p.m.
▪ Longview School, Meymandi Hall, 2 p.m.
▪ Garner High School, Raleigh Convention Center, 4 p.m.
▪ Phillips High School, Meymandi Hall, 6 p.m.
▪ Rolesville High School, Raleigh Convention Center, 8 p.m.
Monday, June 13
▪ Heritage High School, Raleigh Convention Center, 8 a.m.
▪ Panther Creek High School, Raleigh Convention Center, 12 p.m.
▪ Crossroads FLEX, Meymandi Hall, 2 p.m.
▪ Leesville Road High School, Raleigh Convention Center, 4 p.m.
▪ SCORE Academy, Meymandi Hall, 6 p.m.
▪ Millbrook High School, Raleigh Convention Center, 8 p.m.
Tuesday, June 14
▪ Wake Forest High School, Raleigh Convention Center, 8 a.m.
▪ Fuquay-Varina High School, Raleigh Convention Center, 12 p.m.
▪ Apex Friendship High School, Raleigh Convention Center, 4 p.m.
▪ Enloe High School, Raleigh Convention Center, 8 p.m.
Wednesday, June 15
▪ Wakefield High School, Raleigh Convention Center, 8 a.m.
▪ Cary High School, Raleigh Convention Center, 12 p.m.
▪ Middle Creek High School, Raleigh Convention Center, 4 p.m.
▪ Green Hope High School, Raleigh Convention Center, 8 p.m.
Thursday, June 16
▪ South Garner High School, Raleigh Convention Center, 8 a.m.
▪ Green Level High School, Raleigh Convention Center, 12 p.m.
▪ Apex High School, Raleigh Convention Center, 4 p.m.
▪ East Wake High School, Raleigh Convention Center, 8 p.m.
More information
Go to wcpss.net/graduation for more information on the Wake County school system’s graduation plans for the 2022. The site includes a link to the schedule and tips for attending the ceremony.
This story was originally published March 28, 2022 at 1:33 PM with the headline "Wake high school graduations return to downtown Raleigh. Here’s the schedule.."
