HERMISTON — While most districts are planning a drive-in style graduation ceremony, Hermiston School District will provide an opportunity for students to walk across a stage.

On June 4, starting at 6:10 p.m., the district will bring 24 students and parents into the high school at a time to give each student a chance to walk across a stage in their cap and gown, and receive a diploma in front of two guests of their choice.

“It’s going to be the longest graduation in the history of Hermiston High School, I can guarantee you that,” Larry Usher, athletics and activities director, told the Hermiston City Council during their May 26 meeting.

Speeches will be livestreamed online prior to Principal Tom Spoo handing out diplomas to students in alphabetical order, and the diploma presentation, which will take place on the stage in the commons, will also be streamed for the rest of the students’ friends and family not present in the room. Students who participate will receive a gift bag, including gift cards and a T-shirt.

Usher said Superintendent Tricia Mooney received some blowback from superintendents on the west side of the state about bringing people into the school, but district administrators felt it was important to allow students the opportunity to walk across the stage.

“We’re trying to do the best we can in a really bad situation for our kids right now, and we felt like making sure they got an opportunity to walk across the stage, and making sure their parents got an opportunity to see that, and anybody else with our livestream capabilities was definitely going to be a step in the right direction for us,” he said.

The district is also hosting an “honor walk” for seniors on Friday, May 29. Students will walk in their caps and gowns in a loop along West Highland Avenue and Orchard Avenue starting at 7:30 p.m., with fireworks on the Hermiston Butte to follow.

This week is the last for classes for Hermiston students. Usher said the district ended instruction a little earlier than usual because teachers were under contract for a certain number of days, and administrators expected it would take longer than usual to wrap up the school year, including getting textbooks and 2,500 Chromebooks back from students and returning items from desks and lockers to the students.

Originally, the district had expected to stop delivering meals to bus stops over the summer, but Usher said the Oregon Department of Education just granted school districts permission to continue delivering meals throughout the summer. The district has been serving between 5,000 and 6,000 meals a week.

He said the effort provides not only food to students, but also a chance for staff to check on their welfare.

“Some kids just grab the food and sit right down on the sidewalk next to the bus and begin eating their lunch because they hadn’t eaten since the day before, and that’s difficult to see, but it’s also rewarding to know we’re providing that service,” Usher said.

In answer to a question about sports, Usher said Hermiston’s unique position as an Oregon school playing in a Washington league means it is so far unclear what the district’s summer practices or fall season might look like.