'We're owed a graduation': Coronavirus brings a painful end to senior year at high schools

ASBURY PARK, N.J. – Mackenzie Horvath had high hopes for the last few months of her senior year at Jackson Memorial High School.

The 17-year-old had a great job at Jackson Premium Outlets, she’d committed to Montclair State University for the fall and she had even picked out her prom dress.

Then the coronavirus hit.

Like all students in New Jersey, that meant remote learning, no face-to-face with friends and no more after-school job.

But for seniors like Horvath, the cut is even more painful. The departing Class of 2020 is facing the possible reality of no graduation ceremony, no prom and the loss of senior traditions, from senior trips to class competitions.

“I think the whole being out of school is affecting seniors the most,” said Horvath, who remains hopeful that the June 6 prom or the June 19 graduation may still happen. “This is what we have worked for all of grade school and our high school years.”

She even launched an online petition urging her district and others statewide to consider holding graduations and proms even if they have to take place in the summer.

“Even if they are postponed that would be OK, but we want to know that we will go to prom and walk across that stage to get our diplomas eventually,” the petition directed to Gov. Phil Murphy states in part. “At this point these are the only things that we have left to look forward to in high school.”

As of Wednesday, it had nearly 30,000 names.

Jackson schools, like most Jersey Shore districts, have not canceled classes for the entire school year, although each is on a remote learning plan for the moment.

That leaves many 12th-graders in the unknown and trying to come to grips with the prospect of high school ending without a final goodbye or graduation traditions.

Most administrators say the final decisions are still up in the air, in part due to the hope that classes can resume in school buildings at some point.

“Unfortunately, we don't have an answer to how senior events will be impacted yet,” said Rebecca Policastro, a spokesperson for the Freehold Regional High School District, which includes six high schools serving eight communities. “We are waiting at this point to see what happens. Any school events (for any grade) we had scheduled for April have been moved to late May at this point.”

The Freehold Regional website still has graduations for its schools — Colts Neck High School, Freehold Borough High School, Freehold Township High School, Marlboro High School, Howell High School and Manalapan High School — all set for June 24.

A similar wait-and-see approach is taking place at Pinelands Regional High School in Little Egg Harbor, according to Principal Troy Henderson. Although school remains closed and on remote learning, the graduation is still set for June 19 and prom is scheduled for May 29.

“We could have graduation if the school opens, but that is a big if,” said Henderson, who noted the senior class trip to Walt Disney World slated for this week was canceled. “They are pretty bummed out, they got a bum rap, our seniors. They couldn’t even get a normal school year because of a pandemic.”

Among those affected is Pinelands Regional senior class president Joey Vitiello, who said “it is a confusing time because all of the seniors want to know about graduation, prom and the trip.”

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The 18-year-old Vitiello, who also plays quarterback on the football team, said seniors are also missing out on traditions such as the powderpuff football game and “senior assassin,” an annual team battle in which classmates go to war with squirt guns.

“I am most upset about Mr. Pinelands,” he said, citing the annual Miss America-style boys pageant that includes swimwear, formal wear and talent competitions. It always draws a big crowd for the $500 scholarship contest.

“Growing up in Pinelands I had a lot of older friends who would do it and I would support them and now I will not have the opportunity to do that,” he said. “I don’t see it happening in the summer because a lot of people are leaving to go to college and do summer events. I plan on being a lifeguard on LBI (Long Beach Island) and I’m not sure that will happen.”

Set to attend Pennsylvania State University in September, Vitiello said the biggest fear is school ending with classes at home and no socializing until college: “We might not see some of our friends again before school ends. It is bringing a lot of us together. We realize how much we relied on our social interactions with each other.”

At Toms River High School East, senior Anthony Vitale had his academic challenge team competitions cut short and said the prom and graduation uncertainties affect a lot of related plans.

“It is all indefinite at this moment,” said Vitale, who has plans for a post-prom gathering in Cape May with classmates. “A lot of people are feeling like they are owed a graduation. I agree with that. I would like to have a graduation. That is the ultimate goodbye, the final bridge from high school to college.”

Across town, Shauna Deming, a senior at Toms River High School North, agrees. President emeritus of the student council, Shauna remains hopeful she will get to speak at graduation, still planned for June 18.

“I still hold hope that graduation will happen, even if it is postponed,” she said. “At the rate that this is going, it doesn’t feel likely for prom,” which is slated for May 29 at the Pines Manor in Edison.

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Still deciding between Ocean County College, New York University and Fordham University for the fall, Shauna said those last weeks of high school are memories that cannot be matched.

“The seniors having fun on their last dates, certain events. Even at the pep rallies they get to do special things,” she said. “A lot of people are joking about a virtual prom, but we hope that the actual prom is what does happen. People are coping with things by looking back on the past of high school.”

For Celia Grebenstein, a senior at Raritan High School in Hazlet, that graduation day image has been in her mind for a long time.

“It has been really hard for me,” said the 18-year-old who also competes in track and field and missed the spring season. “I have wanted to have that graduation ceremony and take pictures and looking forward to that it is really getting to me.”

Although she is excited to attend Rowan University in the fall, Grebenstein said missing two of the most memorable high school moments — prom and graduation — is tough to take for her and her friends.

“Hopefully we will go back to school and it will be normal,” she said. “I have been trying to adjust.”

Debra L. McKenna, assistant superintendent of Toms River Schools, said she feels the students’ pain but said the future of prom and graduation remain unknown: “We haven't made any decision about those events yet.”

Follow Joe Strupp on Twitter: @joestrupp.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Coronavirus: 'We're owed a graduation,' say high school seniors