Apology issued for remarks at graduation

I wish to apologize to everyone who attended the Lake Roosevelt High School graduation ceremony on June 9th. While every student speech is reviewed and approved by the high school principal, occasionally a student will deviate from the approved speech and add some personal comments that, while not intended to offend, come off in a manner that does not reflect the values of LRHS or the Grand Coulee Dam School District. One of our student speakers, during the delivery of his speech, went off script and made some comments that were offensive to many students and the audience and are in direct opposition to the inclusive model that our district strives to achieve. The student has been made aware of his error and has made appropriate private apologies. Learning takes many forms and it is my hope that the student has learned a valuable lesson and that the incident has provided a lesson to those students who follow in his footsteps.

Dennis L. Carlson, Ed.D.