Gateway seniors to graduate in Monroeville Mall parking lot

Gateway seniors will cap their high school experience in a parking lot at the Monroeville Mall.

Justin Stephens, the high school’s principal, said in a letter to parents last week that graduating seniors will have a commencement ceremony that adheres to distancing guidelines.

“In cooperation with Macy’s and the Monroeville Mall, we are excited to announce that our graduation ceremony will be held in the lower parking lot of Macy’s Backstage,” Stephens said.

The principal said the May 27 event will be a “hybrid commencement ceremony,” allowing family and friends to watch on large screens and listen by tuning into an FM radio channel.

“I’m excited,” Stephens said. The unprecedented graduation ceremony will be the high school principal’s second at Gateway. “I’m super excited about it because given the circumstances, parents, grandparents, extended family — they’ll all be able to see this in person. That’s what it’s all about, seeing them reach this milestone.”

Stephens said he and Superintendent Bill Short worked hard to provide the graduating seniors an authentic, Gateway-genuine graduating experience. The Macy’s parking lot was the administrators’ first choice in venue, he said, because of its size.

There are 1,200 parking spaces, said Stacey Keating, a mall spokeswoman.

“We give kudos to the mall and Macy’s,” Stephens said.”I’ve seen other schools who’ve had to do parades, and a hybrid and virtual ceremony over two days. This is all in one day. So it’s awesome, just not on the traditional field.”

Keating said this is a first. She said the mall was happy to accommodate and won’t charge the school district for the venue.

“It’s always important for us to be a good community partner,” she said. “We’re looking forward to allowing the graduating class of 2020 to celebrate all their achievements and to give them some sense of normalcy during this unprecedented time.”

Though some of the ceremony’s elements will be traditional, there will be some glaring differences this year.

One of those includes what the students will wear. Each graduating senior will be required to wear a facemask, per CDC guidelines, unless wearing one is medically prohibitive, Stephens said.

The approximately 250 students receiving their diploma will be escorted from the high school to the mall by Monroeville police in buses. Each bus will contain anywhere from 15 to 20 students, Stephens said, to maintain proper social distancing.

When they get to the parking lot, students will be called up to the stage — the same one used at the school’s traditional ceremony at Antimarino Stadium — and grab their diploma covers. Stephens said himself, Short and school board President Mary Beth Cirucci will not be shaking hands with the students, but they will be on stage.

The unorthodox graduation ceremony is one of many events that has been adapted as schools grapple with changes brought on by the covid-19 pandemic.

The senior awards banquet, traditionally held as a separate event from the graduation ceremony, was canceled. Awards will be announced during the ceremony at the mall.

Gateway administrators canceled the district’s junior and senior prom that was originally scheduled for May 8. Instead, the class of 2020 will have a “Senior Celebration” from 6 to 10 p.m. July 22 at Edgewood Country Club.

The school district’s Kennywood school picnic, originally scheduled for May 2, has been rescheduled for Aug. 22.

Gateway seniors’ last day is May 21.