When Rebecca Ross ordered her gold graduation cap and gown in preparation for her Carrick High School commencement, she expected to be walking across the stage to receive her diploma on Sunday.
What she didn’t know was that the trip to Disney her mother had planned as a graduation gift would fall on the date of a mandatory graduation rehearsal today, costing her a spot onstage at the ceremony.
It is standard procedure across the Pittsburgh Public Schools system to mandate graduation rehearsal, said Ebony Pugh, spokeswoman for the schools. According to Ms. Pugh, mandatory rehearsal is a rule that is dictated and enforced across the entire public school district to avoid problems on graduation day.
Rebecca’s mother, Anne Ross, had mapped out her daughter’s graduation trip in January, making sure to schedule it around Rebecca’s recreational soccer tournaments in Edinboro and Carrick High School’s graduation. The family planned to be gone for eight days.
By the time Rebecca attended a school assembly in the spring and learned that a graduation rehearsal two days prior to commencement was mandatory, the plane tickets had been booked. Cutting the trip short wasn’t an option for the family. Rebecca had never been on a real vacation before, and they’d been planning for months.
Rebecca said she approached the school’s principal, Angel Washington.
But Ms. Washington said she could not make an exception for Rebecca, who took Advanced Placement and Centers for Advanced Study classes.
Barring hospitalization, almost no excuse is accepted.
“If I made an exception for her, I’d have to make 170 other exceptions,” Ms. Washington said.
Melissa Friez, principal of Pittsburgh Allderdice, said she hasn’t seen one student miss graduation rehearsal in her six years of being principal at the school — at least any students who wanted to participate in commencement.
“I was shocked and upset that they wouldn’t make an exception or change,” said Rebecca, one of 28 students at the high school graduating with high honors.
Bob Farrace, director of public affairs at the National Association of Secondary School Principals, said that instances such as Rebecca’s are rare. The association doesn’t hear about them too often.
“I haven’t seen evidence that it’s a widespread trend,” he said.
“Where schools would get in trouble is if they made these decisions capriciously,” he said, explaining that schools are usually very clear in outlining their expectations for students and following through in enforcing them.
Pittsburgh Public Schools isn’t the only district with mandatory graduation rehearsals. Quaker Valley School District also mandates rehearsals, representative Angela Yingling said.
Mrs. Ross said she understands that half of the graduating class cannot be missing on rehearsal day, but she doesn’t understand why the principal can’t make an exception.
Rebecca doesn’t plan to go to her commencement ceremony.
“If I can’t walk, I’ll probably just sleep,” she said with a laugh.
Anicka Slachta: aslachta@post-gazette.com.
This story has been changed to correct the wording of a quote from Bob Farrace.
First Published: June 5, 2015, 4:00 a.m.
