Winston Churchill High School

Dear Principal Taylor, Dr. Felder, and Councilman Friedson,

We ask that the graduation ceremony for the Winston Churchill Class of 2024 be moved to the school stadium on the morning of May 31st, with a rain back-up on the morning of June 1st (we do not support a “zoom” back up).

Hosting a graduation two counties and nearly 40 miles away at rush hour (on a busy Friday morning at the start of summer weekend travel) will require hours spent in the car. All routes to Baltimore are heavily-traveled with tractor trailers, commuters, and visitors at high speeds - not conducive to teenage drivers and their families en route to an early morning ceremony. One accident or construction project on the roadway would compound the problem and potentially bring things to standstill.

The notoriously bad traffic has only been made worse by the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse. The impact on traffic patterns is well-documented in local (and national) news outlets and warrants our graduation venue be reconsidered.

The 40-mile distance and the traffic make for an unreasonable travel time and increase the likelihood of missing or being late to the ceremony due to traffic congestion. The location has no significance to the students or the larger community. We chose to educate our children in our local public schools because our community is important to us.

The students graduating this year were robbed of an entire year of high school due to covid closures. Making this graduation special and significant is important to all of us. We hope it is to Montgomery County as well and we would appreciate your willingness to adjust as requested.

Sincerely,

Students and Parents of the Class of 2024

Students & Parents of Winston Churchill High School Class of 2024    Contact the author of the petition