Tennessee families furious after students forced to walk at graduation in torrential rain

Two Tennessee high schools are facing backlash after pushing ahead with outdoor graduation ceremonies in torrential rain, leaving students and families soaked and furious.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.“As soon as they started speaking, it started pouring,” Victoria Burls, whose daughter Gabriella graduated from Centennial High School, told the outlet.Burls said the rain got so bad that she was worried about people slipping in the bleachers.“I was like nervous someone was going to slip and fall down the bleachers, like all the elderly people,” she said.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.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.“My 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,” Garner said.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.“I was wearing my prom shoes.My shoes were like puddles,” Broadnax told WTVF.The rain also forced parts of the ceremony to be scrapped entirely — including a planned moment of silence for a classmate who died last year.“Penelope was going to graduate with us.

We could at least do a moment of silence,” Broadnax said.Broadnax’s godmother, Michelle Wyatt, also questioned why the district proceeded with the outdoor ceremonies despite deteriorating weather conditions.“My conce...