In an excellent piece in the May 5 Signal Tammy Marashlian reveals the now pathetic nature of renegade eighth grade promotion ceremonies being staged by parent groups in the Hart District http://www.the-signal.com/news/article/28182/. The story focuses on two potential ceremonies, one at the Hyatt on June 4 involving Rio Norte, Sierra Vista, Arroyo Seco and La Messa Junior High Schools and a rival ceremony for Sierra Vista to be held on June 3 at a currently undetermined location. No ceremonies have been planned for Rancho Pico (word on the street is that the able principal of Rancho Pico crushed any nascent grass roots ceremonies) or Placerita Junior High.
Now when the news first broke about the cancellation of eighth grade promotions for budgetary reasons (and, in my mind, the better reason of protecting these students from ridicule in the future) Facebook groups boasting more than 2,000 members sprang up, first demanding a reversal of the decision and then promising to stage their own ceremonies. A quick look at the numbers shows how fast this internet groundswell hollowed out.
There are approximately 3,600 eighth graders in the Hat District or an average of 600 per school. Assuming that a “promoted” eighth grader would bring 4-5 family members to the ceremony the promotion venue would require seating for 2,400 to 3,000 guests and 600 promotees for a total of 3,000 to 3,600. NO INDOOR VENUE WOULD ACCOMODATE THIS IN THE SCV. The ceremonies requires an outdoor venue and historically have occured at the football venues of COC, Valencia and Canyon.
An inquiry at the Hyatt Valencia reveals the Grand Ballroom will hold 300 people in “classroom” configuration. For this capacity it implies that the ceremony, which involves four schools, will have somewhere between 50 and 60 students, or less than 2% of the students leaving eighth grade this year. This is also less than 10% of the number of eighth graders who joined the Facebook pages stating unequivocally that the cancellation was the WORST THING that could possibly happen to them.
This incident is instructive to local elected officials. While suburbanites may complain long and hard (from their living rooms) about an unpopular decision, the fire soon evaporates when they actually have to get up off the couch! The organizer of the Hyatt ceremony (bless her heart) admits that the passion has gone out of the drive for private ceremonies. Do tell! This should stiffen the resolve of elected board members to make difficult decisions.
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