The Las Vegas Academy of the Arts had its two-part graduation event on Friday and Saturday, beginning with a prerecorded 90-minute ceremony that graduates could watch with their families from home, according to Principal Scott Walker. On Saturday morning, graduates were invited to decorate their cars and bikes and take a lap around Downtown Las Vegas to the sound of “Pomp and Circumstance.” Walker said he wrote and submitted three other plans before eventually landing on the combined option, which also allows seniors to take a photo in front of the school’s historic entry.
One plan was to utilize the drive-in theater, Walker said, but the venue was only open for a day before it was shut down again. Another idea that would have allowed students to graduate in groups by performing arts category was turned down by the district because of the size of the groups. Given the top requests — for students, to graduate with their peers and for families, to be involved in some way — Walker said the two-part option was the best available, even if it didn’t make everyone happy. “There’s people who have said, ‘That’s not good enough,’” he said. “Well, nothing is good enough for my students. They worked so hard and they deserve to have the best.”