The hour-long broadcast, which will start at 3 p.m., will also be livestreamed at the same time on the TV station’s website, said Gould.
Originally, Kings’ graduating seniors were scheduled to participate in a traditional, live commencement ceremony at the Cintas Center on the Xavier University campus but state-ordered prohibitions against such gatherings forced school officials to create a new, virtual event and other ceremony substitutes.
“The (TV) program will be commercial free event that is a mixture of the traditional graduation ceremony and tributes to the Class of 2020,” said Gould.
Kings Superintendent Tim Ackermann said “we are excited to partner with channel 12 to provide a special event for a group of students that have worked so hard to get to this point.”
Additionally, Kings teachers have organized an “Adopt-A-Senior” program and the graduating seniors will have teachers and school officials delivering the caps and gowns and awards.
Gould said the district will also be hosting a drive-through diploma event.
“Our high school administration has been working diligently to make sure our seniors are celebrated as well as possible during these times of social distancing,” she said.
“We went with Local 12 for our virtual ceremony because we thought it brought a unique concept to the table. The graduation event will be broadcast throughout Cincinnati and Local 12 will livestream the program so out of town relatives and friends can watch together at the same time,” she said.
“We also wanted to allow the seniors to have some sort of tangible event so the drive-through diploma distribution will allow them to get their diploma and get a picture in front of Kings High School by a professional photographer,” said Gould.
Messages left with the TV station did not elicit a response.
Kings officials said they didn’t immediately have available the costs for the TV partnership but said it was less than the $15,000 rental fee for the Cintas Center.
Gould said Kings has also tentatively scheduled an in-person commencement ceremony at the Cintas Center for Aug. 2, should state orders disallowing such gatherings be rescinded by then.
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