The Northampton Area High School Class of 2020 commencement ceremony at Al Erdosy Stadium will take place in four groups. The event is set for 6:30 p.m. July 24, with two rain dates of 6:30 p.m. July 25 and 26 at the stadium.

Pennsylvania’s green phase of the COVID-19 shutdown requires gatherings be of 250 or fewer people, social distancing of 6 feet or more and the wearing of masks in public places.

“We’re estimating it’s going to take a good three to four hours,” Northampton Area School District Superintendent of Schools Joseph S. Kovalchik said of the event during his opening remarks at the NASD Board of Education meeting July 13.

“The ceremony will be livestreamed on YouTube,” Kovalchik said because “it’s going to be two tickets per graduate (for the ceremony).

“We’re actually going to put a video together and send it out to the Class of 2020,” Kovalchik said.

Kovalchik, in his July 9 video chat, offered additional information about the ceremony. The video chat can be viewed at youtube.com/watch?v=k1WKVM7Lxjw&feature=emb_err_woyt.

“We will not have a normal ceremony,” Kovalchik said in the video. “The ceremony will be divided up into four groups based on last name and the alphabet. We will rotate these groups in.”

An email to parents and guardians of the Class of 2020 with additional information about the ceremony, along with a survey concerning attendance, was sent July 9.

The 6:30 p.m. start is earlier than the previously announced 7 p.m. start for the ceremony.

“We’re picturing about 30 minutes per group,” Kovalchik said.

Names will be announced, diplomas will be handed out, a photo will be taken and the students in each group will exit the stadium. Parking lots will be set up for specific areas to observe social distancing. Students are to wear face masks.

“We think, for the most part, [masks] will not be required because we are going to have [students] spaced apart at least 6 feet, if not more,” Kovalchik said.

“We had to pull back a little bit on the tickets we were going to allow the graduate to receive,” Kovalchik said. “At first, we said it was going to be four guests that the graduate would be allowed to bring to the ceremony, but now it’s just going to be two.”

Students who can’t attend can make arrangements to pick up diplomas from the high school administration.

“We want to honor the 2020 Class in some capacity - not the way we wanted to, (but) some of this is well out of our control as you know,” Kovalchik said. “But at least we’re going to have one last time to recognize the tremendous Class of 2020 and all that they accomplished for the Northampton Area School District throughout their educational career.”