County schools to graduate 287 seniors over two weeks

Graduating seniors will take the “Pomp and Circumstance” march over the next two weekends to receive their diplomas.

Eight county schools combined will graduate 129 students, and Pullman High School will graduate 158, making 287 county-wide for the class of 2016.

That total is down 19 from the 306 students in the class of 2015. The 287 graduate count is down by almost 50 students from 2011 when 323 seniors received their diplomas. It is also the lowest figure seen since 2013, when 297 students graduated.

Colfax, Colton, Garfield/Palouse, Tekoa and St. John/Endicott have all seen a decline in graduate figures, while LaCrosse, Oakesdale, Rosalia and Pullman saw slight increases.

The first two graduation ceremonies – Colfax and LaCrosse – are slated for 11 a.m. Saturday, June 4.

Colfax High School will graduate 47 students in the high school gymnasium. That figure is down from 49 students last year.

LaCrosse, graduating eight students compared with last year’s five, will host its ceremony in the Plowman gymnasium at the school.

The Garfield/Palouse graduation ceremony will be up next. The school will graduate 14 seniors – down from 27 last year – in the school gymnasium at 1 p.m.

Oakesdale will follow shortly after, with its ceremony booked for 1:30 p.m. in the school gymnasium. Oakesdale will award diplomas to nine students, more than doubling last year’s figure of four.

The last graduation ceremony June 4 will be Pullman’s. The school has again booked its commencement at Beasley Coliseum on the WSU campus. The school will see 158 students graduate, up by two from last year’s 156. Though the school has seen a slight increase, the figure is still down from recent years. Just three years ago, Pullman graduated 176 students.

Two graduation ceremonies are booked for Sunday, June 5. First up is Tekoa at 1 p.m. in the school gymnasium. The school will see nine students receive diplomas, compared to 16 last year. This year’s figure better compares with trends seen in the past at Tekoa where seven students graduated in 2014 and eight in 2013.

The St. John/Endicott graduation is also scheduled for Sunday. The school will honor 16 graduates at 2 p.m. in the high school gymnasium, down from 19 last year.

The final two graduation ceremonies will be next Saturday, June 11.

Colton’s class of 2016 will be the first to graduate in the school’s newly-remodeled gymnasium. The ceremony, which will see nine students receive their diplomas, is scheduled for 11 a.m.

The final commencement ceremonies is Rosalia’s, which is at 2 p.m. in the high school gymnasium. The school will graduate 17 students, up one from last year.