After initially deciding to keep the Barrington High School graduation ceremony on a Sunday, Principal Chris Ashley has reconsidered and will shift the event to a Saturday. 

To be specific, BHS graduation will be on Saturday, June 8, 2024.

Ashley made the decision during the Barrington School Committee meeting on Thursday night, Dec. 21, a few days after he had emailed students’ families and said the BHS commencement would be on Sunday, June 9. 

School officials announced in the fall that they were considering moving the graduation ceremony to Saturday, June 8, after some families questioned why the district had always held the event on a Sunday afternoon. 

Ashley posted a survey asking families of current seniors to choose which day worked better for them: Saturday, June 8 or Sunday, June 9?

On Dec. 15, Ashley emailed families and announced “While many families supported the idea of a change, there were still some families which felt like the change would be disruptive. Not wanting to cause too much disruption, we have decided to keep the BHS Class of 2024 graduation on Sunday, June 9th.”

Maura McCrann questioned the process used to reach that decision. 

During the public comment period at Thursday night’s meeting, McCrann, the wife of Barrington School Committee Chairman Patrick McCrann, said the majority of people who took the survey — allegedly 75 percent of the 100-plus people who responded — supported moving graduation to a Saturday. McCrann also questioned whether the BHS school improvement team, or SIT, had been included in the process.

Ashley told members of the School Committee that the SIT team’s December meeting had been delayed. He said he spoke with officials in the district’s central office and they were hesitant on making the change. A short time later, Ashley emailed families of senior students and informed them that graduation would stay on a Sunday. The email also stated “We plan on using this survey data to propose that the Class of 2025 graduation be moved to Saturday when the School Committee takes up their calendar planning this winter for next school year.”

At the School Committee meeting on Thursday night, Ashley said the SIT members recently met and discussed the graduation date. He said they felt that the data showed a desire to move the graduation to a Saturday. The SIT recommended moving the commencement one day earlier, to Saturday, June 8, said Ashley.

Ashley told School Committee members he wanted to respect the work of the SIT team and acknowledge the data. 

Barrington School Committee member Megan Douglas said she believed Ashley had the power to decide on the graduation date. The Committee’s attorney agreed, stating that it was an administrative decision. 

Ashley said he wanted to make the change, moving the graduation date to Saturday, June 8. He said he would send out an email announcing the shift. (The change will also impact the Friendship Service — that event will be held Friday night, June 7.)

Officials did not determine what time the commencement would be held on Saturday, June 8. Ashley said he would bring that topic to the SIT members.