Barrington High School seniors learned late Thursday afternoon that officials were moving the BHS graduated date from June 4 to June 11.

In an email to parents and students, Barrington Superintendent of Schools Michael Messore wrote that the date of the Friendship Service was shifted to June 10 and that graduation was going to be June 11.

The email did not explain what led to the change, but only that high school seniors were required to fulfill 171 days in order to graduate. 

“We understand that families may have already scheduled plans that overlap with our new graduation date,” Messore wrote. “The graduation ceremony will be live-streamed on our Eagles News Network for families to view online.”

The angry response from families was immediate. 

People sent emails to school officials, called the BHS office and posted comments online. One student, Kaleigh Moran, created an online petition asking for school officials to reverse their decision. By 8 p.m., more than 300 people had signed it.  

On Thursday night, more than a dozen people crowded into the middle school presentation room for the School Committee meeting and pleaded with officials to stay with the June 4 date.

Their requests may have worked — school leaders are now considering the possibility of keeping the BHS graduation on June 4, handing students blank diplomas during the event and then mailing them the real certificates a week later, once they have successfully completed 171 days. The School Committee’s attorney said she had researched the possibility and did not find anything barring that move.

Messore said he has also called the RIDE commissioner and asked for permission to keep the original graduation date. 

During the meeting, Messore said officials felt very bad about what had happened. One person asked why the 171-day requirement had not been a problem in the past — the requirement has existed since 2018. People wanted to know what happened differently this year.

Messore said it had probably been that the counting of schools days had not taken place this year. 

More than a half-dozen people — most of them seniors at Barrington High School or parents of students — vented their frustrations at the School Committee meeting on Thursday night.

Ella Carlotto was the first to speak. She said the decision to move the graduation date was incredibly unfair to students and their families. She said people have booked flights to come to town for the ceremony, reserved hotel rooms, scheduled post-graduation celebrations and made plans to travel directly following the event.

Kaleigh Moran said the senior class president had plans to be on a different continent for the June 11 date and would not be able to attend her own graduation. She said the date change was not fair to the class president or any of the BHS seniors and their families. 

Bridget Duffy said she had spoken with a friend at Portsmouth High School, which had faced a similar situation. She said officials there were able to find a way to keep their graduation ceremony on the originally planned date. She asked about alternatives to moving the date. 

Anna Saal offered a passionate speech during the meeting. The BHS student said school officials love sharing news about the accomplishments of Barrington students but do not show respect for the students. She said members of the 2023 graduating class have been through a lot — the pandemic, masking requirements, distance learning — and after all that, now face the graduation date change. 

Barrington School Committee Chairman said the district can do better. He said actions speak louder than words and he hopes students hold district officials to doing better.

Madeleine Kaufman, the student representative for the Barrington School Committee, read a statement from her laptop. She questioned the decision the change the date. She said it was important for her to speak on behalf of the senior class. 

Kirsten Davis said she had three children go through Barrington Schools and wondered if previous graduations violated the RIDE requirement. She also asked school officials if there was anything parents could do to help reverse the decision.

Another Barrington parent, Nicole Searles, said she found the situation “quite infuriating.” She said that poor planning on the part of school officials should not constitute or create an emergency for families. She said the graduation should be kept on June 4, and officials can figure out the rest of the situation later. 

Later in the discussion, McCrann questioned the district's decision to send out an email with the graduate date news after classes dismissed on the day before a long weekend.