The Academy of the Canyons (AOC) and Learning Post Academy classes of 2020 were celebrated in a drive-thru graduation ceremony at Central Park on Thursday morning.

The senior class at AOC included 101 graduates while the Learning Post Academy class of 2020 included 87 graduates.

“This has been, for everybody, a difficult couple of months and a difficult school year, and I’m so glad that we got to have a little bit of face-to-face closure,” said AOC Principal Dr. Pete Getz. “One of the nice things about AOC is it’s a family, and we know everybody well no matter what your role is on campus, so this was truly special.”

The drive-thru graduation experience has been refined to a tee by the district employees that collaborate with the schools in the William S. Hart Union School district and Thursday morning was no exception as parents and students rolled through for a final moment to celebrate the end of this chapter.

“Getting here took the belief that we could do it, support from the district office, and a staff that just jumped right in and took care of business,” Getz said. “I think the other side of it was having students buy into it and the families say this is going to be something special, and it was.”

The ceremony was also particularly special for Getz himself, as he celebrated his final graduation as the principal at AOC and now prepares to make a transition to a role in the district office.

In his address to the graduates of the Learning Post Academy, Getz thanked his students for giving the non-traditional school a try.

“We know and we are well aware of the fact that you selected an independent study program because it allowed you to pursue your professional goals as well as service your individual academic needs. We thank you, we thank you sincerely for taking the chance at Learning Post.”

To his graduates from both AOC and the Learning Post, Getz left them with these final words:

“I wish them the very, very best of luck, to a lifetime of health and happiness,” Getz said. “I hope that they continue to pursue their dreams and aspirations academically and they take what we’ve given them and given them an opportunity to do and they go do something big, and I know they will.”

Wyatt Smith / KHTS News

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