Each superintendent said despite social distancing restrictions they aim to give outgoing seniors a memorable graduation experience, and one as close to a traditional event as possible.

“Graduation is such an important moment in our kids’ lives,” Lake Placid Superintendent Roger Catania said.

Tupper Lake Superintendent Seth McGowan said Cuomo’s decision directly impacted the district’s graduation decision.

“If the buildings weren’t closed, under normal conditions, we’d be setting up our traditional graduation ceremony,” McGowan said.

He said graduation is the biggest discussion in school right now.

“This is not going to be one of those things where we just cancel it. That can’t happen here,” McGowan said. “This is far to important to everybody: the seniors, their parents, the school.”

Saranac Lake Superintendent Diane Fox said she had several possible graduation plans, but that this announcement narrowed them down.

“I had Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, Plan D,” Fox said. “And this does wipe Plans A, B and C off the table.”

She said she is not ready to announce the specifics of Plan D, but said, “We have a plan.”

“We’re working to provide for students a program rich with tradition, delivered in an alternate way,” Fox said.

Superintendents said no decisions have been made, as they need more answers before they know what graduation will look like.

Fox said she does not want parents to plan for “what could be,” and have plans change. Se said the last last piece she needs to know is when school is actually ending. Because instruction continued through spring break, she said if staff work until the end of the school year, they would be working over the number of required days in their contract.

McGowan said plans also depend on what social distancing requirements from the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are at the time.

He said people have hypothesized an outside ceremony, but he wasn’t sure about that.

“An outside ceremony could be a disaster if the weather is based on this spring so far,” McGowan said, referencing wind, rain and several returns to the cold. He said schools in the southern half of the country are preparing for graduation now, as their school years begin and end earlier, so he said he’ll keep an eye on them and glean ideas from their ceremonies.

Catania said it’s not just graduation itself that is important, it is also all the buildup to that event. The district is planning on doing things to honor seniors and bring smiles to their faces.

“The seniors are an important group … and this is our last opportunity with them,” McGowan said. “It’s important to me that it’s done right.”