Tag Archives: Graduation

Graduation Schedule – DeKalb Schools Class of 2019

Soooo … the last day of school is May 23, 2019. Graduation ceremonies start 4 days later on Tuesday, May 28.

I hope the seniors consider sticking around for the graduation ceremonies. I’m getting a lot of feedback from parents.

Katie Frame is a parent of a senior at Dunwoody High School. She is livid about the graduation schedule and started a petition to Return Dekalb Schools Graduation to Scheduled Week. Her email to me is representative of a flood of emails I’m receiving …

My name is Katie Frame and I am a parent of a senior at Dunwoody High School. I am writing to the entire board to express my unhappiness and disappointment with the November 1 announcement of new dates for 2019 graduation. I would like the board to move the date back to the week of May 20-24 and, if necessary, holding the events at the Dekalb County Stadiums.

It is November and everyone has been planning for a ceremony that occurs the week of May 20-24, 2018 – before the end of the board approved school year. To move graduation into summer at this late date will mean that some students, parents and teachers will not be able to attend and that is not fair to those individuals or their peers and community.

Students have made job plans that start immediately following the end of the school year. Families have been making plans to come together that week to celebrate. Parents and Teachers have made vacation plans and paid deposits for the week of May 27th (the week following Memorial Day is one of the busiest travel times of the summer). Teachers may not be able to participate in graduation because they have job and summer plans that start once the school year ends. Moving this date will cause a financial burden for those that have to change work plans, flights, vacation plans, etc. and not everyone can afford to do that.

The class of 2019 deserves to be able to celebrate their achievement as a group. They deserve to have teachers and other faculty present to celebrate all they have worked for over the last four years. To move graduation at this late date ensures that we will not have complete attendance and it diminishes the full graduation experience for all DHS students, parents, teachers and families.

I am also concerned with the complete lack of communication from the district on this topic. We have been waiting for a date, our DHS sponsors and principal have requested the date on multiple occasions, and we have seen no information from the district. Our school leadership was not updated, and our parent community was not updated. To move graduation to a new week that occurs AFTER the end of the school year is unfair to everyone involved. We can certainly look at previous years that used district stadiums as facilities or move to create Regional Plans that put graduations in the hands of the regional leadership.

Thank you for hearing my concern. I hope that you can help us find a graduation solution that will keep graduation in the week of May 20-24 so that all the students can participate along with teachers, administration and parents.

The district is strangely quiet about graduation ceremonies right now. The only message I have seen from senior administration is, “We thank you for your patience. The booking of two major events by the Georgia World Congress Center during the week prior and the week ending the school year posed a bit of a challenge for all school districts needing a large venue for numerous ceremonies.”


DeKalb County School District Graduation Schedule
2018 -2019
Georgia World Congress Center

Date School Time
Tuesday, May 28, 2019 Towers High School 10AM
Columbia High School 1PM
Cedar Grove High School 4PM
DeKalb School of the Arts 7PM
Wednesday, May 29, 2019 Lithonia High School 10AM
Dunwoody High School 1PM
Redan High School 4PM
Clarkston High School 7PM
Thursday, May 30, 2019 Lakeside High School 10AM
DeKalb Early College Academy 1PM
Stephenson High School 4PM
Cross Keys High School 7PM
Friday, May 31, 2019 McNair High School 10AM
Arabia Mountain High School 1PM
Chamblee High School 4PM
Tucker High School 7PM
Saturday, June 1, 2019 Druid Hills High School 10AM
Martin L. King, Jr. High School 1PM
Miller Grove High School 4PM
Elizabeth Andrews High School 7PM
Sunday, June 2, 2019 Stone Mountain High School 10AM
Southwest DeKalb High School 1PM
Tapestry Charter School 4PM

Friday, May 17, 2019
10 AM
Margaret Harris Comprehensive School
Ceremony will be held at the school


RELATED POSTS

Class of 2018 Graduation Ceremonies Schedule
November 17, 2017 – All high school graduations will be held during the week of May 21-26, 2018 at the Georgia World Congress Center. This is the second year to have graduation ceremonies at the GWCC. Last year the ceremonies were on time, air conditioned, streamed online with great production value … and it better be for $300K.

My Graduation Ceremony – Open Letter To DCSD
May 10, 2017 – Georgia Wescott’s Open Letter to the DeKalb County School District with her thoughts about the venue selected by the senior administration without input from the local CCHS community.

Class of 2017 Graduation Ceremonies Schedule
April 13, 2017 – Dr. Green created a District Graduation Task Force to begin looking at venues, available dates and costs for specific locations to house district ceremonies.

Class of 2018 Graduation Ceremonies Schedule


Stan Jester
Board Of Education

During the summer of 2016, Dr. Green created a District Graduation Task Force to begin looking at venues, available dates and costs for specific locations to house district ceremonies. Based on a cost and accessibility comparison, the committee determined that the best option would be the Georgia World Congress Center. At price tag of $300K, I’m not sure about that cost analysis.
All high school graduations will be held during the week of May 21-26, 2018 at the Georgia World Congress Center. This is the second year to have graduation ceremonies at the GWCC. Last year the ceremonies were on time, air conditioned, streamed online with great production value.
What are your thoughts that I can share with the school administration and board members?


Superintendent Stephen Green

Georgia Wescott
Chamblee Charter High School graduating Class of 2017
Expressed her thoughts last year.

Open letter to DeKalb County School System:
How are you going to move our graduation against our will and then make us, the students who are graduating, pay to attend it? On top of that, how are you going to hold it at a time where no teachers or other students can attend because it’s on the last day of school immediately after school gets out all the way in downtown Atlanta? At this point I’m not even looking forward to my own graduation because the fact that it costs money has taken away money from some of our senior activities that we’ve been looking forward to. –Georgia Wescott

Superintendent Stephen Green

Dr. Stephen Green
Superintendent, DeKalb County School District

Graduation ceremonies are a major component of the closing of each school year. In recent years, schools have used governmental buildings, arenas and even churches to hold events. During the 2015-16 school year. However, the district was challenged by the AFL-CIO on the holding of school district graduation ceremonies in religious facilities. While measures were taken to comply with the request to not house ceremonies in religious venues (and some locations were changed), it was agreed that the district would work to address the [concern].

DeKalb County School District Graduation Schedule
Georgia World Congress Center
Graduating Class of 2018 (Congratulations!!)

Date School Time
Monday, May 21, 2018 Lithonia High School 10:00 AM
Elizabeth Andrews High School 1:00 PM
Dunwoody High School 4:00 PM
Chamblee Charter High School 7:00 PM
Tuesday, May 22, 2018 Lakeside High School 10:00 AM
Southwest DeKalb High School 1:00 PM
Miller Grove High School 4:00 PM
Druid Hills High School 7:00 PM
Wednesday, May 23, 2018 Destiny Achievers High School 10:00 AM
Arabia Mountain High School 1:00 PM
Stone Mountain High School 4:00 PM
Towers High School 7:00 PM
Thursday, May 24, 2018 Martin L. King, Jr. High School 10:00 AM
Tucker High School 1:00 PM
DeKalb School of the Arts 4:00 PM
Cedar Grove High School 7:00 PM
Friday, May 25, 2018 McNair High School 10:00 AM
Columbia High School 1:00 PM
Redan High School 4:00 PM
Clarkston High School 7:00 PM
Saturday, May 26, 2018 Stephenson High School 10:00 AM
DeKalb Early College Academy 1:00 PM
Cross Keys High School 4:00 PM