Survey: Most want Mt. Hope graduation to stay put

District survey shows overwhelming support for local venue

By Ted Hayes
Posted 2/2/18

The results are in, and they’re clear: Mt. Hope High School students, parents and teachers all want the school’s annual commencement exercises to stay right where they are, at Roger …

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Survey: Most want Mt. Hope graduation to stay put

District survey shows overwhelming support for local venue

Posted

The results are in, and they’re clear: Mt. Hope High School students, parents and teachers all want the school’s annual commencement exercises to stay right where they are, at Roger Williams University in Bristol.

Nearly 80 percent of parents surveyed in an online poll recently created by the school district said they want graduation exercises to stay in Bristol. Teachers concurred by nearly the same amount (77.3 percent vs. 79.8 percent of parents), and 42.5 percent of students also said they want graduation to stay here. In all, 659 parents, teachers and students answered the question.

The survey came out after months of discussion by parents, teachers and administration over whether Mt. Hope has outgrown its traditional graduation home at the Roger Williams University field house.

With fire codes capping available seating at 1,400, getting enough tickets for everyone who wants to attendhas long been a source of frustration for students and their families. And with the size of Mt. Hope graduating classes expected to grow in the coming years, superintendent Dr. Mario Andrade formed a small committee late last year to look into the pros and cons of moving. Other possible venues include the University of Rhode Island’s Ryan Center the Community College of Rhode Island and the Providence Performing Arts Center.

Tara Thibaudeau, who volunteered on the committee, said the issue is a “hot topic” because like her, she knows many other families who have a hard time tracking down as many tickets as they need each year. Her family has graduated three students from Mt. Hope, and has three more to go.

“My preference is to stay local,” she said. “We have the best facility out of most high schools in the state. Most high schools graduate on their football fields.”
Still, last year’s graduation was a good example of the difficulty in obtaining tickets. Though students receive four, Ms. Thibaudeau wanted to bring several other family members. After asking around, she ended up with two more, bringing her total to six.

“You have to ask around,” she said.

School officials have not made a final decision yet on whether to move graduation or keep it local. But prior to the survey results being released, Supt. Dr. Mario Andrade predicted it would stay in Bristol:

“I pushed to have this conversation,” he said. “But at this point, I’m pretty confident it’ll end up at Roger Williams University and stay there.

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