San Francisco (May 31, 2022) - The San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) will host all outdoor graduation events this week. For the second year in a row, all high school ceremonies will take place outdoors at Kezar Stadium and the McAteer Campus Stadium. The Class of 2022 includes approximately 4,100 graduates, an increase from 3,700 in the class of 2021.
“We are committed to providing a memorable experience for each and every student that graduates from the San Francisco Unified School District,” SFUSD Superintendent Dr. Vincent Matthews said. “We know this has been an especially difficult few years for seniors, and all students, and we are so proud of our graduating seniors.”
All outdoor graduation events began last year with event production costs covered by a collaborative initiative called “Graduations for All,” presented in partnership with the City of San Francisco Mayor’s Office, San Francisco Department of Children, Youth, and Families, and San Francisco Recreation and Park Department, and with the support of donors. Graduations for All ensures that all families have a quality experience at graduation that is professionally produced. Prior to this, planning graduations was up to individual schools and oftentimes the graduation experience was different for students at small schools that had less funding for graduation. The cost of the entire graduation production for all three days for all schools is $500,000.
“Our Graduations for All events are a significant shift from a system where the previous quality of the program depended on the schools’ ability to raise money and what they can afford,” said SFUSD Assistant Superintendent of High Schools Bill Sanderson. “That led to the experience of some students being drastically different from others. With graduation now being held at two venues, we are able to work with a professional production company to ensure that we have the best quality sound, staging, facilities, and security to provide a memorable experience for each and every of our graduates.”
All high school graduation ceremonies are ticketed events and tickets will be distributed via students’ schools. Events will also be livestreamed so family members who cannot attend can watch the ceremony.
SFUSD continues to follow public health guidance and monitor cases both in schools and in the community, in consultation with health officials. Per public health guidance, masks are strongly encouraged.
In addition to individual high school graduation ceremonies, African American seniors will be honored at the 3rd Annual SFUSD Black Graduation and Rites of Passage Ceremony at Kezar Stadium, hosted by the SF Alliance of Black School Educators. Filipino 12th graders were honored last week at Abraham Lincoln High School in the 4th Annual P. Grad hosted by Kababayan, SFUSD’s Filipino employee affinity group.
Every year, SFUSD and its non-profit partner Spark SF Public Schools recognize six graduating seniors with the annual Superintendent’s 21st Century Award scholarship. Each senior is selected for exemplifying a characteristic of the SFUSD Graduate Profile.
The 2022 Superintendent’s 21st Century Award winners are Jazmine Guzman of John O’Connell High School; Zainab Wisniewski of San Francisco International High School; Carlos Huang of Balboa High School; Un Ieng Sit of Galileo Academy of Science and Technology, Joanne Yen of Abraham Lincoln High School; and Tashi Gotlieb of Lowell High School.
Learn more about this year’s 2022 Superintendent’s 21st Century Award winners.
See the 2022 High School Graduation Ceremony Schedule.
ABOUT SFUSD
SFUSD is the seventh largest school district in California, educating over 52,000 PreK-12 students every year. San Francisco is both a city and a county; therefore, SFUSD administers both the school district and the San Francisco County Office of Education (COE). This makes SFUSD a “single district county.”
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