Gaston County Schools’ high school seniors will graduate together this May.
Gaston County’s nine traditional high schools – Ashbrook, Bessemer City, Cherryville, East Gaston, Forestview, Hunter Huss, North Gaston, South Point and Stuart W. Cramer – will each hold two ceremonies on Friday, May 28, at their respective football stadiums.
Highland School of Technology will use a different stadium on May 28 due to the small size of its stadium, as the ceremonies will adhere to 6-feet social distancing, according to the school system.
Families of graduating seniors who currently attend school Monday and Tuesday will attend the first ceremony, currently slated for 5:30 p.m.
More than 600 students and employees at Gaston County Schools tested positive for COVID-19 during the first semester of the 2020-21 school year.
As of the week of Dec. 14, 2020, 650 students and employees contracted the virus at some point during the semester, according to charts provided by the school district.
That total includes 21 COVID-19 cases at the school district central office and seven cases among those in Gaston Virtual Academy.
Aside from the occasional dip, case totals per week within the school district has steadily increased since school began in August.
Gaston County Schools reported a massive jump, from 65 cases the week of Nov. 30 to 119 cases the following week.
A socially distanced classroom in Gaston County Schools, which remains open for in-person classes.
Gaston County’s Webb Street School has been declared the site of a COVID-19 cluster for the second time this school year. The state list posted Friday afternoon shows seven staff cases and one student case at the school for students with disabilities.
Clusters are defined as five or more cases that appear to be linked to the school. Webb Street was Gaston County’s first cluster in October. Schools are removed from the cluster list once they go 28 days without a case, but can be added again if there s a new outbreak.