JAMES CITY COUNTY, Va. — Jennifer Tisdale is a senior at Jamestown High School in James City County. She’s headed to The Savannah College of Art and Design in the fall to study production design.
While she's ready to begin the next chapter of her life, she wants to put a proper close on the current one.
Tisdale and her classmates already lost prom and senior picnic, and now they're worried they're in danger of losing a traditional graduation.
“Graduation is a huge milestone, we haven't been able to see our classmates, this is the last time before we leave for college,” Tisdale said. “There is something we can do now, that's why I started the petition.”
Tisdale started a petition called WJCC Students Deserve a High School Graduation. It’s addressed to the Williamsburg James City County School Board. In just 24 hours, the petition had close 200 signatures.
“It shows people want the same thing and this may put pressure on WJCC to make the decision to have as close to a normal graduation as possible,” Tisdale said.
The Williamsburg-James City County School Division is exploring different graduation options. This week, the school division sent a survey to seniors and their parents hoping to gauge interest in potential virtual celebrations and delayed in-person ceremonies.
The survey is not a vote, but a method to gather input.
Tisdale says they've already lost enough, and they won't let this opportunity slip by without letting the School Board know how they feel.
“We hoped they wouldn't do a virtual or staggered graduation because it doesn't have the same effect,” Tisdale said. “That's the whole reason I started this petition because I wanted to see if others felt like I did, like we already lost enough.”
Once a graduation plan is finalized, that information will be shared with families by email, phone call, text, and newsletter.
You can sign the petition here.