Santa Clarita Valley International (SCVi) Charter School’s graduating class of 2020 was honored in a drive-thru ceremony at their Castaic campus Friday morning.

https://youtu.be/JUq1WKOKWwg

School faculty and parent volunteers came together to make this year’s ceremony for graduating seniors a memorable one as they start the next chapter in their life of learning.

Amber Raskin, CEO of iLEAD Development, said she was proud of the creative way the SCVi community managed to make this ceremony special in spite of the difficult circumstances.

“Back in 2008 when we opened, this wasn’t exactly what I envisioned but what I love and am so proud of with our community is that we pivot and we still make it special anyway so it’s a beautiful moment,” Raskin, whose son was one of the graduates, said. “We roll with it, because we need to and that’s an important skill that these kids need to have because we don’t know what the future is going to hold and they’re going to need to roll with things in the future.”

All 68 SCVi learners eligible for graduation received diplomas Friday. Roughly a third of the graduates were Exploration Learners, a home-study program, while 37 were traditional students taking classes on campus, and nine were part of SCVi’s Innovation Studios, a hybrid program.

Dawn Evenson, CEO of iLEAD California, said that the challenges of this year and the circumstances of the social-distanced ceremony could provide an important life lesson for graduates.

“I think it’s important to know that there are always ups and downs in life, and they’re getting early practice in that,” Evenson said. “When it feels like things are very discouraging, in the middle of unrest there is always hope and opportunity. And that opportunity is to be able to change things for the future so we don’t end up right back where we are.”

Aside from accommodations made to the graduation ceremony in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, SCVi had to transition to distance learning during the end of the school year. Raskin credits the school’s model for making that transition as easy as possible.

“I think we’ve cultivated a community that is adaptable on purpose because that’s what the kids need in the world,” Raskin said. “So that’s what makes it easy to adapt. We did pivot to virtual learning overnight.”

Some of the colleges SCVi graduates are set to attend in the fall include Carnegie Melon, UC Santa Barbara, Loyola Marymount, University of Denver, Purdue, Grand Canyon University, and Biola University.

In addition to having a drive-up event for graduates to be awarded their diplomas, SCVi is scheduled to host a virtual graduation ceremony at 6:30 p.m. Friday.

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