{"id":405,"date":"2026-05-25T11:06:46","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T11:06:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=405"},"modified":"2026-05-25T11:06:46","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T11:06:46","slug":"tennessee-families-furious-after-students-forced-to-walk-at-graduation-in-torrential-rain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=405","title":{"rendered":"Tennessee families furious after students forced to walk at graduation in torrential rain"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Two Tennessee high schools are facing backlash after pushing ahead with outdoor graduation ceremonies in torrential rain, leaving students and families soaked and furious.<\/p>\n

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Students at Centennial High School and Franklin High School trudged across the stage in the pouring rain Thursday night as family members sat through a drenching downpour to watch their loved ones become high school graduates, WSMV reported.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs soon as they started speaking, it started pouring,\u201d Victoria Burls, whose daughter Gabriella graduated from Centennial High School, told the outlet.<\/p>\n

Burls said the rain got so bad that she was worried about people slipping in the bleachers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was like nervous someone was going to slip and fall down the bleachers, like all the elderly people,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Burls added that the weather was so bad her daughter is already planning to redo her graduation photos at the football field because she was soaked after the ceremony.<\/p>\n

Britney Garner, whose daughter Akyla spent hours getting ready for the ceremony, went down to the field with an umbrella when the rain moved in and said she believes the school should offer students a chance to redo the event.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy child who had put so much into this day to make it special, and was so excited, I could just not stand to sit there and see her get drowned like that,\u201d Garner said.<\/p>\n

Centennial High School graduate Brooklynn Broadnax, who sang the national anthem to kick off the ceremony, said she had only a poncho to protect her from the elements.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was wearing my prom shoes. My shoes were like puddles,\u201d Broadnax told WTVF.<\/p>\n

The rain also forced parts of the ceremony to be scrapped entirely \u2014 including a planned moment of silence for a classmate who died last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cPenelope was going to graduate with us. We could at least do a moment of silence,\u201d Broadnax said.<\/p>\n

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Broadnax\u2019s godmother, Michelle Wyatt, also questioned why the district proceeded with the outdoor ceremonies despite deteriorating weather conditions.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy concern is, you had elderly who, number one, were now put in danger because of the weather,\u201d Wyatt said. \u201cThere are puddles of water they can\u2019t see. You run the risk of people falling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following the ceremony, Wyatt vented her frustration on social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cCentennial High School is totally OUT OF ORDER!!! These children deserved to have a graduation!!!!!\u201d Wyatt wrote, after first congratulating her goddaughter.<\/p>\n

Viral videos of students grabbing their diplomas in the pouring rain caught the attention of former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who criticized the decision to hold the ceremonies outdoors.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is ridiculous. The school should have organized graduation indoors. The graduates and their families deserved a nice ceremony,\u201d Greene wrote on X.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cBy the way, their parents are tax payers that fund the school and administrator\u2019s salaries. Being treated this way should not be tolerated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williamson County School Superintendent Jason Golden acknowledged the rain made graduations at Centennial and Franklin challenging, but defended the outdoor setting, saying many schools hold ceremonies on football fields because families find it meaningful to celebrate on campus and because it allows more loved ones to attend.<\/p>\n

\u201cBased on forecasts and radar, we expected to complete last night\u2019s ceremonies at Centennial and Franklin before the next wave of rain began, but unfortunately, changing conditions brought rain during the events,\u201d Golden said in a statement, according to WSMV.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the rain impacted those two ceremonies, it could not diminish our pride in our Centennial and Franklin graduates.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Students at Centennial High School and Franklin High School trudged across the stage in the pouring rain Thursday night as family members sat through a drenching downpour to watch their loved ones become high school graduates.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":404,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-news"],"yoast_head":"\nTennessee families furious after students forced to walk at graduation in torrential rain - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=405\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tennessee families furious after students forced to walk at graduation in torrential rain - 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