Brentwood High plans June 27 graduation on soccer field; ticket limits and turf protection discussed
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Summary
Brentwood High Principal Dr. Deshana Doolin told the board the 2026 graduation will be Saturday, June 27, with the newly renovated soccer field proposed as the venue. Staff warned a single, full-class ceremony will likely reduce per-family tickets (about two); surveys of parents and students will decide final format.
Dr. Deshana Doolin, principal of Brentwood High School, told the Board of Education that the district plans to hold its 2026 graduation ceremony on Saturday, June 27, to allow staff time to grade final Regents exams and certify diplomas. “This year, our graduation ceremony will be held on Saturday, June 27,” Doolin said.
Doolin said the district’s football field renovation overlaps the date, prompting staff to propose using the newly renovated soccer field. She said the proposed graduating class is about 1,400 students — the same size as last year’s largest class — and that the soccer field seats about 3,000 spectators, with roughly 1,400 graduates placed on the field.
Board members focused on the tradeoffs of a single unified ceremony versus holding two separate ceremonies. Doolin said one ceremony creates a unified experience and gives staff greater flexibility on timing, but would likely reduce the number of tickets per family. “If we have a full student body graduation … you will probably get just 2 tickets for your family members,” she said. By contrast, two ceremonies would likely allow more tickets per family (about three) and shorter individual ceremonies, but would require additional logistics and could limit options for adjusting to weather.
Staff also addressed turf protection and day-of logistics. “Miss O’Connor has looked into providing a floor to make sure that the turf is not damaged during the graduation ceremony,” Doolin said. The team described interlocking panels for the stage and seating areas and said they would prohibit heels on the turf; staff suggested providing spare flip-flops for graduates who forget.
The district plans to solicit preferences from parents and students before a final decision. Doolin said the parents’ survey will go out on ParentSquare while a student survey will be sent via Teams. Staff also committed to livestreaming the ceremony and offering an air-conditioned space that will show the live feed for family members who cannot attend in person.
Next steps: staff will run stakeholder surveys, review results with the graduation committee and make a final recommendation to the board. The board closed the workshop without taking a formal vote on the ceremony format.