Yorkville High School prom, graduation rescheduled due to coronavirus pandemic

UPDATED 6:30 P.M. MONDAY, APRIL 20:

YORKVILLE – The Yorkville High School Class of 2020 are set to have their prom and graduation dates later than usual this time around.

David Travis, principal for Yorkville High School, wrote in an email to families on Monday, April 20 that the date for prom has been rescheduled to June 25 in Aurora and graduation was rescheduled for June 27 at the high school's football stadium due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

The update comes after Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker announced that school buildings were to remained closed for the remainder of the school year and e-learning was to continue through the end of the school year.

Although the governor's decision was expected, Travis wrote, he acknowledged it still brought a sense of disappointment with it.

"This is not how anyone envisioned your time at Yorkville High School concluding," Travis wrote. "My heart breaks for all of you."

Yorkville school officials previously said they were looking at other options for high school graduation while they waited for further guidance from the State of Illinois about what should be done about prom and graduation dates in light of the outbreak.

Travis said on Monday school officials already had a good idea of what they were going to do regarding a plan for those dates.

“We just wanted to get clarity from the governor before we rolled it out,” Travis said.

Prom originally was scheduled for May 2 in Aurora, according to the Yorkville High School events calendar. Graduation previously was set for May 15 at the Northern Illinois University Convocation Center in DeKalb.

A contingency date for prom, should the state's stay-at-home order remain in effect through June, is set for July 17. The next contingency date for graduation is July 18.

A third potential date for graduation only is listed for Aug. 7 in the email to families from Travis.

Prom and graduation dates for Oswego High School and Oswego East High School previously were rescheduled, according to those school officials last week.

Travis wrote plans are still contingent on state-wide restrictions regarding large group gatherings. He wrote school officials also have developed plans to conduct special events for seniors virtually – including graduation – should it come to that.

Travis said it's still too premature to make a decision about how many graduation attendee tickets would be available for each student at this time. He said that will be decided when school officials have a better idea of what gathering limits will be in place.

“Hopefully a lot of things can change in the next eight weeks and … change for the good, but we’re not going to make those decisions until we get closer to that date,” Travis said.

Travis said school officials are going to do everything they can to make sure those senior week experiences happen in person, as long as it can be done safely.

“They deserve it," Travis said. "They’ve earned it.”

Travis said the top priority is for everyone to stay safe and healthy and for students to take care of themselves and their loved ones.

“We just have to continue to remember that, in theses times, it’s the most important thing,” Travis said.