Las Vegas families celebrate graduations with front-yard signs

Rylie Thacker’s walk across the stage to receive her Liberty High School diploma this month would have been a milestone for her family, as she’d be the first to continue on to a four-year university.

But as with every graduating senior in Nevada, Thacker will celebrate her big day offstage, in her case at home, where she has been following Nevada’s stay-at-home order since March 16.

To mark her graduation, her mother put up a celebratory sign in the front yard.

Hundreds of homes in the Las Vegas Valley are sporting signs and banners that try to convey what a graduation ceremony would have achieved — celebrating and acknowledging the students’ success.

“She’s an honor student, she had cords and ribbons to wear at graduation. She’s the first in our family to go to university,” said Rylie’s mother, Summer. “There was no chance for senior photos this year. I thought this was a perfect thing to set up.”

After placing the sign in the front yard of her Henderson home, Summer Thacker shared the photo on the NextDoor app, asking that her neighbors be lenient about reporting her unapproved sign to the HOA.

To her delight, her neighbors joined in the celebration, with many on the block making similar signs for their own front yards.

“I didn’t realize how many people support the Class of 2020,” said Thacker, 17, who will attend University of Nevada, Reno in the fall. “Every time I go outside, someone says ‘congrats.’ It’s little things, I guess, that make the most out of a big situation. It makes me feel a little better.”

Family signs

Summer Thacker ordered Rylie’s sign from Steve Rosenthal, a Las Vegas photographer who started producing signs when the professional and high-school sports he usually shoots were all canceled.

“I have four kids, three have graduated. I know what a big deal it is for kids who worked 13 years of their lives to get to this point,” Rosenthal said.

While his photography business, Behind the Lens Sports Photography, has slowed to a crawl, he has produced over 1,500 signs, which he sells for $20 to $25 each. He roped his two youngest kids into helping with deliveries.

“Everyone recognizes that the Class of 2020 deserves something special because they’re missing out on so much,” Rosenthal said.

Banner year

While Isabella Rowles excelled academically, she was a target of bullying as a child, which developed into a social anxiety that made it hard for her to make friends in high school.

She said that things started turning around in her senior year at Shadow Ridge High School. She started to make friends, she received a four-year tuition scholarship from Arizona State University and her physical education teacher awarded her Student of the Quarter, citing her growth in confidence and self-improvement.

“This year was actually going really well for her,” said her mother, Margarita Rowles. “Literally the week before March 15, a group of kids came up to her at lunch and talked and asked if she wanted to sit with them. I thought maybe she would make friends before the end of the school year.”

Without telling her daughter, Margarita Rowles ordered a large banner to be placed in her front yard as a celebratory substitute for a graduation ceremony.

“I’ve had trouble with social things and it kind of felt like it was getting easier. It’s unfortunate that this all happened at this time,” the senior said. “Especially the graduation ceremony. I’ve had problems with anxiety and working to get over that. I felt like that was my moment to get up the courage to go up on stage. Now that won’t happen.”

700 signs for seniors

The Student Council at Arbor View High School in Las Vegas is committed to celebrating the graduating class, even if means doing so remotely.

In addition to virtual senior week events, they organized an order for 700 signs from a local business that seniors can pick up at a small pizza restaurant nearby.

“Our goal is for every senior to have one in their yard or window,” said Julie Meservey, senior class adviser for the Student Council. “It’s something that shows pride in your school and pride in your graduating. It’s a celebration for the senior Class of 2020.”

Contact Janna Karel at jkarel@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jannainprogress on Twitter.