Senior Update

May 26, 2020

Dear Parents/Guardians,

On April 9, Dr. Hite shared the news that our school buildings would remain closed for the rest of the school year and that the school-sponsored social events you have been looking forward to all year, such as proms and graduation, would be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ​Even though these events cannot move forward in a traditional way, we remain fully committed to safely celebrating the Class of 2020 .

On June 9th, at 11:00 am, there will be District-wide virtual graduation with the afterparty from 7:00 -8:30 pm on the same day. Customizable and shareable invitations are now available on our  https://www.philasd.org/2020grad/ webpage.

In addition to these plans, individual high schools may choose to host their own virtual graduation or party for their students in June. School staff will provide more information if they are pursuing this option. With safety as our top priority, no in-person events for seniors will be planned by the District or your school until further notice.

As you are also aware, senior activities that you may have paid for in advance have been canceled because of COVID 19. We are committed to providing you with an appropriate refund as soon as it is possible to do so safely for staff and families.  The information below outlines the approach that the District is taking regarding the reimbursements:

Refund:  Your school’s principal is working with our finance department to determine your refund amount. There are four factors that are being considered for the refund:

1.     Dues paid – This is the amount of money you have paid for senior dues this year. Currently Senior Dues are $80.00.

2.     Personalized Items – These are items that are specific to this school year and were to be paid for as part of your senior dues. You will not be refunded monies that went toward those purchases, as that money has already been spent and you will receive those goods. Yearbooks and Diploma Covers were already purchased prior to the COVID-19 closing.

3.     Non-Personalized Items – We do not have any items that fall in this category.

4.     Events – The Senior Trip and the Senior Prom were cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Monies paid will be applied to your senior dues and any additional money will be refunded to you.

As noted above, you should still expect to receive items personalized for the Class of 2020, have the option to receive non-personalized items, and receive a partial refund on your dues for items and events not provided. The exact dollar amount and how it was calculated will be included with your refund when you receive it.

Format: Dues will be repaid with a check from your school. We have worked with Wells Fargo Bank to ensure that any family who wishes to cash the refund check will be able to do so at a Wells Fargo branch without any service charge.

Refunds will be mailed to your address that is on file. If you are worried that this address is incorrect, please contact Mr. Mark Dumsha  at mdumsha@philasd.org to submit a change of address form.

Timing: Because the reimbursement checks will be generated by each school, they cannot be issued until the Mayor and Governor have declared it safe for non-essential travel and our buildings are reopened to staff. We will inform you as soon as that occurs.

If you have questions and/or concerns, you can contact Mrs. Angela Sposato at asposato@philasd.org.

We thank you for your understanding and look forward to virtually celebrating our seniors in June.

Sincerely,   Mrs. Dana Jenkins    Principal, Roxborough High School