Will 8th Grade Graduations Survive in Danville?

Administrators say eliminating the 8th grade graduation is something they've been considering for about a decade now. The reason? They say high school graduation is the real celebration. "Eighth grade graduation really holds no merit in terms of overall education," says South View Middle School principal Jason Bletzinger. "It's merely a stepping stone for high school years, and we wanted to keep graduation ceremonies for high school students." Tonight Bletzinger and other administrators were prepared for the board to agree... with a compromise. That compromise? Eliminating formalities like diplomas and caps and gowns and having a smaller ceremony at the middle schools instead of the high school. Instead, the board voted to keep the full graduation this year and have more discussion before making a decision for next year. Parents with eighth grade students say it's a temporary victory. "I'm glad that they're not totally taking it away from them, but I think they need to consider that taking that diploma away is going to be hard," says parent Jennifer Taylor. "It's not fair. To them it's a piece of paper; to parents it's an accomplishment." Board members say they kept the graduation for this year because they want to give parents more advance warning. They say some have already started preparing, so making a big change mid-year wouldn't be fair. The board did create a time line Wednesday though. Parents and students have until May 1st to make their voices heard and tell the board whether they'd like to keep the graduation, or come up with a compromise. The board will announce how the middle schools will handle future graduations at the first board meeting in May.