In today’s update, AISD Superintendent Doug Loomis shares his letter to the Class of 2020 about plans for graduation (PDF opens in new window), and we outline important changes in grading policies for the spring semester and end of the school year.

Because of continued social distancing requirements and executive orders, graduation ceremonies originally scheduled on May 22 and 23 have been postponed.

We hope to conduct traditional, face-to-face graduations in June or July, but only if social distancing orders have been lifted or modified by then. We are taking steps now to begin recognizing the Class of 2020, including creating videos that will contain many of the special elements of a traditional ceremony and that will be shared with all graduates, families and the community later in the summer, regardless of whether we are able to host traditional ceremonies.

“We know this is not the ending students wanted for their senior year, but we want them to know we’re committed to making the best of the situation and finding a way to honor and celebrate their achievements,” said Superintendent Loomis.

Details about changes to grading policies can now be found on the COVID-19 page of AISD’s website. For high school students, grade point averages and class rank calculations will be based on final transcript grades through the 2019 fall semester; grades from the 2020 spring semester will only count for purposes of earning credit toward graduation. For elementary and middle school students, all grades earned in the last six-week grading period (March 23 – May 22) will be reported as Pass, Fail, or Incomplete.