Dear Worcester Public Schools Community,
As high school graduation season begins, cooperation and adherence to rules are crucial for a positive experience for all attendees celebrating student achievements. We are writing to provide you a warning regarding counterfeit tickets to Worcester Public Schools’ high school graduation ceremonies.
On Wednesday night, a large number of people presented counterfeit tickets to Worcester Technical High School’s Commencement Ceremony at the DCU Center. This resulted in hundreds of people trying to attend the graduation in excess of the DCU capacity. There were many parents and families with legitimate tickets who were not able to see their student graduate.
This is a heartbreaking situation as graduation is a milestone event in a student’s life. We have evidence of some students being involved in the creation of counterfeit tickets and providing them to people in the community. We hope that those responsible realize the impact they had on the school community and for the parents and families who can never get that moment back.
Several of our high schools will hold graduation ceremonies over the next two weeks.
Please keep in mind the following information:
Each graduating senior is designated a certain number of tickets to ensure everyone with a legitimate ticket can attend the ceremony.
You should only use official tickets that are provided directly by the school. You should not purchase or obtain graduation tickets through a third party.
If you are in possession of a counterfeit ticket and it is discovered as you enter the DCU Center, you will not be allowed inside to watch the ceremony.
Please respect that the ticket takers are volunteers; most of them are teachers who work at the school. Please treat them with respect and understanding.
The DCU Center reserves the right to close the doors to the graduation ceremony if they determine that the space is at physical capacity.
All of the graduation ceremonies are video recorded and broadcast on the Worcester Educational Access Television’s YouTube channel.
The Worcester Public Schools will be examining its practices around graduation ticketing to prevent a similar incident from reoccurring. We are proud of our Class of 2025 graduates and all they will accomplish in the future.
Sincerely,
Rachel H. Monárrez
Superintendent
Worcester Public Schools