Two Tennessee high schools are facing backlash after pushing ahead with outdoor graduation ceremonies in torrential rain, leaving students and families soaked and furious.
Students at Centennial High School and Franklin High School trudged across the stage in the pouring rain Thursday night as family members sat through a drenching downpour to watch their loved ones become high school graduates, WSMV reported.
“As soon as they started speaking, it started pouring,” Victoria Burls, whose daughter Gabriella graduated from Centennial High School, told the outlet.
Burls said the rain got so bad that she was worried about people slipping in the bleachers.
“I was like nervous someone was going to slip and fall down the bleachers, like all the elderly people,” she said.
Burls added that the weather was so bad her daughter is already planning to redo her graduation photos at the football field because she was soaked after the ceremony.
Britney Garner, whose daughter Akyla spent hours getting ready for the ceremony, went down to the field with an umbrella when the rain moved in and said she believes the school should offer students a chance to redo the event.
“My child who had put so much into this day to make it special, and was so excited, I could just not stand to sit there and see her get drowned like that,” Garner said.
Centennial High School graduate Brooklynn Broadnax, who sang the national anthem to kick off the ceremony, said she had only a poncho to protect her from the elements.
“I was wearing my prom shoes. My shoes were like puddles,” Broadnax told WTVF.
The rain also forced parts of the ceremony to be scrapped entirely — including a planned moment of silence for a classmate who died last year.
“Penelope was going to graduate with us. We could at least do a moment of silence,” Broadnax said.
Broadnax’s godmother, Michelle Wyatt, also questioned why the district proceeded with the outdoor ceremonies despite deteriorating weather conditions.
“My concern is, you had elderly who, number one, were now put in danger because of the weather,” Wyatt said. “There are puddles of water they can’t see. You run the risk of people falling.”
Following the ceremony, Wyatt vented her frustration on social media.
“Centennial High School is totally OUT OF ORDER!!! These children deserved to have a graduation!!!!!” Wyatt wrote, after first congratulating her goddaughter.
Viral videos of students grabbing their diplomas in the pouring rain caught the attention of former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who criticized the decision to hold the ceremonies outdoors.
“This is ridiculous. The school should have organized graduation indoors. The graduates and their families deserved a nice ceremony,” Greene wrote on X.
“By the way, their parents are tax payers that fund the school and administrator’s salaries. Being treated this way should not be tolerated.”
Williamson County School Superintendent Jason Golden acknowledged the rain made graduations at Centennial and Franklin challenging, but defended the outdoor setting, saying many schools hold ceremonies on football fields because families find it meaningful to celebrate on campus and because it allows more loved ones to attend.
“Based on forecasts and radar, we expected to complete last night’s ceremonies at Centennial and Franklin before the next wave of rain began, but unfortunately, changing conditions brought rain during the events,” Golden said in a statement, according to WSMV.
“While the rain impacted those two ceremonies, it could not diminish our pride in our Centennial and Franklin graduates.”
