May 17, 2020--Amarillo ISD is partnering with local TV stations KFDA NewsChannel 10 and KCIT-Fox 14 to honor AISD’s Class of 2020 with televised broadcasts of the special production, “AISD Class of 2020 Virtual Graduation Celebration.”

Because current social gathering recommendations limit the possibility of a traditional graduation ceremony, AISD set out to recreate the experience in a virtual way that would be especially memorable for graduates and their families and safe for everyone.

The First Baptist Church of Amarillo provided a stately setting downtown and AISD rolled out the red carpet last week, inviting graduates to take part in a graduation walk while cameras captured each senior student in cap and gown. No graduation is complete without an audience of family and friends to cheer on the graduates and local TV stations are providing that opportunity for them by televising the virtual graduation.

“We wanted to do something very special to give our seniors the best send-off we can in a way that heralds their achievements and yet recognizes the unusual circumstances surrounding this important time in their lives,” said AISD Superintendent Doug Loomis. “We know the community is as proud of these graduates as we are. We’re thrilled to be able to offer seniors, their family, friends and the community a safe opportunity to be a part of this ceremony and celebrate with the Class of 2020.”

There will be multiple ways the community can view the “AISD Class of 2020 Virtual Graduation Celebration” on May 23 and 24, the same weekend AISD graduation ceremonies were originally scheduled.

• On Saturday, May 23, “AISD Class of 2020 Virtual Graduation Celebration”  will be broadcast on KFDA NewsChannel 10 at 5 p.m. and streamed online at newschannel10.com/live during the same time.
• On Sunday, May 24, the community can tune in to KCIT-Fox 14 at 11:00 a.m. or stream online at myhighplains.com during the same time to view “AISD Class of 2020 Virtual Graduation Celebration.”

High schools will appear in this order for all broadcasts: Caprock High School, Palo Duro High School, Tascosa High School, Amarillo High School.

To complete the virtual celebration theme, AISD is hosting a graduation party all weekend long on the District’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/Amarillo ISD (Page opens in a new window). Plans include sneak peeks of the virtual graduation video, a shared video stream of the broadcast from TV station websites and some other fun elements for graduates, their friends and families to share with their own Facebook community.