Leonardtown, Maryland. Public school.
Every troupe can decide for themselves what honor items to use for graduation and what their specific requirements are. I think that's a wonderful flexibility to have and can help you tailor your grad honors to fit your school. It can also sometimes make it harder to sell to admin if other schools do something different (or not at all), but the major benefit is that there are multiple options that you can explore which might be more palatable to your school leadership. We do thespian tassels for all inducted thespians, graduation cords for Honor Thespians (60pt), a stole for National Honor (120pt) and a medal for International (180pt).
We got pushback on the tassels because one principal wanted them all to be the same, with school colors etc. but the next principal allowed students to decorate their caps and at that point it was silly to deny the tassels. The cords and stoles have never been a problem.
Agree with Cathy, above, make the case for equity - if NHS is allowed to wear their honors, then so should ITS (which is an internationally recognized honor society, with chapters in most states etc.). If they counter with the argument that NHS includes academic requirements, you could point to any academic requirements your troupe may have for induction, discuss the academic benefits to students who make a commitment to be involved in theatre arts programs, discuss the importance of recognizing and celebrating multiple intelligences etc. and/or look at the Thespian Scholar distinctions and possibly include them in your graduation honors.
Don't give up! Try to find out what your admin values and then show them the aspects of ITS that speak to that and how it can showcase your school in a positive light for the community.
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Guy Barbato
Theatre Teacher/Director
Leonardtown High School
MD
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-22-2024 09:53
From: Stephanie Clussman
Subject: Graduation Cords
Hello All!
I'm trying to convince my administration to let my seniors wear their Thespian cords at graduation. This was something they allowed until last year. If your school allows this - will you please respond with your school name, city and state? I want to provide them with a list of schools to show that this is something that is allowed elsewhere. If you have any other advice on how to get this approved, please let me know.
Thanks,
Stephanie Clussman
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Stephanie Clussman
Laville Jr. Sr. High School
IN
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