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Cape Girardeau 63 accepts Cape Central graduates; memorial chair honors missing student
Summary
Superintendent Howard Binion presented the graduating class to the Board of Education and affirmed that students met Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education requirements; the ceremony included a designated commemorative chair for a missing class member and a recorded video to be posted online.
Superintendent Howard Binion told attendees at Cape Central High School commencement that the Board of Education had accepted the graduating class of 2025 and that students had completed the coursework required by the state.
"We affirm that each student has successfully completed the course of study required by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, as well as the school district of Cape Girardeau," Binion said as he presented the class to the board. He then introduced board members by name and expressed the board's pride in the graduates.
Earlier in the ceremony Principal Nancy Scheller drew attention to a designated chair in the front row "for commemoration" for a missing member of the class, Jude Klass. Scheller asked the audience to "May Jude's memory continue to be a blessing to us all." The principal's remarks established an official recognition and moment of remembrance during the commencement program.
School staff also announced logistical details for diploma pickup and media: graduates were directed to process from the main gym through the big gym into the small gym to collect diploma packets, and Nolan Cook from the Career and Technology Center recorded the ceremony with plans to post it on YouTube. Staff asked family members to wait until graduates had exited the gym before moving and repeated seating‑section exit instructions to ensure an orderly departure.
The transcript records Superintendent Binion presenting the class and the board members standing and waving in recognition; the board's acceptance was recorded as an administrative acceptance rather than an on‑the‑record roll‑call vote. The ceremony included recognitions of academic honors (top 10 percent, National Honor Society, vocational honor society, Seal of Biliteracy, Missouri A+ designation) and individual academic introductions (salutatorian and valedictorian), but no additional formal board actions were recorded in the transcript.
