BEREA, Ky. (LEX 18) — For many families, this is a special time of year as they start attending high school graduations. Jennifer Miller's son will graduate from Madison Southern High School on Friday afternoon.
Miller says, "They've spent kindergarten through 12th grade to get to this point. Many of them missed their first one to two years of high school because of COVID. So, I think this group — it's extra special that they get to celebrate tonight."
But like many other parents, she's keeping an eye on the sky.
"We can only hope for the best and pray that these kids get the recognition and the celebration that the deserve,” says Miller.
Thursday night, Madison Central High School held its graduation. Brandon Fowler's daughter graduated. He says, "I cried. You know it’s very, very emotional. I didn't think it would hit as hard as it did until I saw her walk across the stage and it's just very, very bittersweet to say the least."
The ceremony was delayed. It was set to begin at 7:30 but didn't start for about another three hours because of bad weather.
Fowler says, "There was a lot of rain, a lot of thunder and lightning. They eventually came out and told us that we needed to seek shelter due to the conditions and they would send us back in around 9:30."
Madison County Schools says most of its graduations have been held at EKU's Alumni Coliseum, but it's being renovated. In a statement, they said:
Madison County Schools has traditionally hosted graduation ceremonies for Madison Central High School and Madison Southern High School at EKU's Alumni Coliseum. This year, the district was unable to use that facility because of renovations. Planning outdoor events is very tricky because of the issues that can be raised by weather. Consideration was given to extreme heat, which can happen in late May. Consideration was given to the possibility of rain or storms. Ultimately, the decision fell on making every possible effort to have graduation on the scheduled day at the scheduled time. Madison Central's ceremony certainly experienced a long weather delay last night. It was never the district's intention to keep people waiting for long periods. At the end of the night, the graduation was a beautiful ceremony and we are so pleased with the celebration our graduates experienced. The weather watch continues for this evening as the district prepares for Madison Southern High School's graduation ceremony.
Fowler says, "I feel like if there's a change of venue from an indoor facility to an outdoor facility, you're gonna have factors like weather that do come into play. And with that I feel like they did the best they could with what they were working with."
People turned to social media, concerned about the district's communication about alternate plans. Miller doesn't want to see that happen at her son’s ceremony.
"I think a lot of parents have been confused overall -- a lot of misinformation, a lot of poor planning that didn’t get put into place far enough in advance,” says Miller.
Both parents want to celebrate their kid's achievements and make memories.
Miller says, "For us personally, it's been a lot of our faith leading up to this and we just hope that the celebration goes as planned."
Fowler says, "Just take all that in and enjoy it. Whether there's sunshine and rainbows, or if there's thunder and lightning -- be there for your kids and enjoy it, take all the pictures you can and just eat it up."
