Graduates for Summer Commencement must arrive promptly at 4 p.m. Graduates will enter through Entry 4 on the west side of the venue (off Sanford Street). Graduates should follow instructions provided by venue staff upon arrival. All guests will be admitted 30 minutes prior to the start of the graduation ceremony.

Rehearsal for summer graduation will take place at 4 p.m. on August 8th in the CVPA Multipurpose Room. All graduates must arrive promptly at 4 p.m. to participate in the commencement ceremony rehearsal.

According to the Arlington Independent School District’s (AISD) Student Code of Conduct, a student’s participation in the district’s graduation ceremony is optional. For graduating seniors opting to attend the graduation ceremony, we advise and remind students of the following:

• During the graduation ceremonies, graduates must remain seated at all times, unless directed to stand;
• Graduates must comply with regular school rules regarding electronics, including cell phones and cameras;
• Male students are required to wear dress shirts and neckties. Female students are to wear blouses, dresses, skirts, or pants that comply with the AISD dress code. The principal is authorized to state standards for dress and behavior both prior to and during the ceremony, and to respond as needed;
• Conduct judged by the principal as being disruptive to the graduation ceremony will be addressed accordingly (e.g., removal from event and/or withholding of the diploma pending a parent conference);

Due to fire code regulations, photos can not be taken from the aisles, but may be taken from guest seats. Professional photographers from Flash Photography will be taking two pictures of each graduate. Proofs will be emailed to students one week after the ceremony. Cost varies depending on the package ordered. Flash Photography may be reached at www.flashphotography.com or 817-924-2626.

The Arlington ISD will live stream each graduation on our YouTube channel so it can be viewed around the world. A link will be posted at www.aisd.net before each school’s graduation. Once the live streams are done, we will have the recording of each graduation ceremony available to view on our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/arlingtonisd.

All guests are asked to exit the venue immediately upon the conclusion of graduation. All graduates will meet their families and friends outside of the Center for Visual and Performing Arts – in the parking lot.

For your convenience, parking at the Center for Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) will be available to you at no charge. Guests may park in the lots directly next to the venue (off Sanford Street), or in the lots in front of the adjacent Athletics Complex (off Division Street).

For ease of access to the venue, student graduates may park in the CVPA lots next to the venue (off Sanford Street).

Possession or use of the following items by students and/or guests during the ceremony is not permitted: air horns, clappers, Frisbees, electronic noise or light-emitting devices, inflatable toys, balloons, whistles and footballs, or similar objects. This is a representative list. Any item or behavior of similar distraction will not be permitted.

All bags and purses must be soft-sided and not exceed 16” x 16”x 8”. Backpacks are prohibited (with the exception of baby bags). Graduation facility staff reserves the right to search patrons at the management’s discretion.

Possession or use of the following items by students and/or guests during the ceremony is not permitted: alcohol, balloons, glitter, smoke bombs, bottles, cans, beverage containers of any kind, food items, firearms, weapons of any kind, laser pointers, noisemakers, professional audio or video recording devices, video cameras, GoPro or similar devices, tripods, monopods, selfie sticks, chairs, stools, other seating devices, seat cushions, hard coolers, drones, or similar objects. Gifts items (gift bags, gift boxes, flowers, balloons, etc.) are not allowed inside the venue. This is a representative list. Any item or behavior of similar distraction will not be permitted

All restrooms in the seating areas being utilized will be open to guests.

The CVPA has several handicapped parking spaces in the lots immediately adjacent to the venue. However, the venue does not have shuttles or people assigned to assist guests to their seats. We recommend guests who need special assistance arrive early.

Ticket allotments will be determined by the final graduate count for the campus. Students/families should contact their respective graduation coordinator for tickets.

All entrance tickets to the ceremony will be dispersed at the graduate’s home campus through the campus graduation coordinator.

Graduates should consult with their home campus graduation coordinator for this and other campus guidelines.

Each ticket has a unique code and may only be used by one person; any attempts to use copies of a ticket will result in non-admittance of guests.

All children, regardless of age, require a ticket. Even those sitting on a lap are considered a person per Texas Education Agency Graduation Guidelines, so they will need a ticket.