Reader wonders where Rochester's traditional baccalaureate went
Jun. 9—Dear Answer Man. Do the Rochesters schools still do baccalaureate? If not, when did the practice end and why? Growing up in Rochester, it was a tradition back in my day. The religious service was paired with graduation — I'm a 1977 Mayo High School grad — that took place mid-week prior to graduation ceremonies.
The baccalaureate program back then was held at Mayo Civic Auditorium and all three high schools attended (Mayo, John Marshall and Lourdes — this was pre-Century, I think) took part. The students wore their graduation caps and gowns and even the high school bands played for the ceremony. — We All Need Prayer.
Dear Prayer,
First, the big joint baccalaureate service is a thing of the past.
Not that no one does it.
I reached out to both Rochester Public School and Rochester Catholic Schools on this one.
Let's start with Lourdes High School Principal Mary Spring. Spring said, yes, Lourdes still holds a baccalaureate service each year, COVID notwithstanding. The Catholic high school makes a point to send its graduates away with a little help from the Lord.
As for when Lourdes stopped pairing its service with the public high schools, Spring did not know for certain.
However, Rochester School Board Vice Chair Julie Workman previously worked in the district as a teacher when these services were still offered. Here's what Workman recalls:
* The baccalaureate included students from Lourdes, JM, Mayo and — once it was built — Century high schools, and was held in late May each year. Since Workman started teaching at JM in 1982, the joint — or all-city — ceremonies extended into the 1980s.
* For JM and Mayo choirs and orchestras, the performance and attendance were part of their final grade. The musicians and singers rehearsed on the day of the baccalaureate, which meant those students missed a half day of school.
* Rochester's faith community determined who the adult religious speaker would be for the service. Though, in the 1970s and early 1980s, it was strictly a Christian church service and the hymns and message reflected that.
As Rochester became more diverse religiously — or just less religious in general — changes started to come. But other roadblocks popped up as well.
For example, as the baccalaureate grew each year, there wasn't enough room for the 200-plus orchestra students. Rehearsals for students from different schools were hard since they all had to learn to perform together in one afternoon.
All this happened at the end of May, a hectic time for students and staff.
Later, a survey of music students showed many were either indifferent or opposed to participation. Some objected for religious reasons, though if they did, they were excused with a note from a parent, Workman said.
Then, there was the fact public school funds were being used to support a religious service — bus transportation, purchase of music books. Though teachers were not compensated for the extra duty assignment.
Workman said, as a teacher she stopped participating in 2002, and she believes the whole thing ended after 2004.
The district finally agreed that music students couldn't be coerced into attending, with many only doing so because it was part of their grade.
Workman said after the district bowed out, SEMYO and the Honors Choir (not district-affiliated) provided the music for a year or two, and the Area Council of Churches organized it. However, it was still difficult to get enough students from SEMYO and the Honors Choir to participate since a large number of them were RPS students.
Eventually, Workman said, the people who tried to run it gave up, and it just faded away as part of RPS's graduation festivities, though, as noted above, RCS still holds a baccalaureate each year.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to play some Beetles songs to get "Pomp and Circumstance" to stop playing in my head.
Send questions to Answer Man at answerman@postbulletin.com .
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