By Arielle Nguyen
Fountain Valley High School (FVHS)’s Graduation (Grad) Night will take place this year for the Class of 2026 despite circulating concerns about its possible cancellation, according to administrative members.
“We are still on the docket for having a Grad Night,” Principal Paul Lopez said. “We’re not canceling Grad Night.”
Uncertainty surrounding the event has largely stemmed from the absence of a formal Grad Night Committee over the past two years. Traditionally, Grad Night has been organized by a group of parent volunteers — the Grad Night Committee — rather than FVHS itself. While an official plan has not yet been established, it does not indicate cancellation.
According to Tony Pash, FVHS Honors Graphic Arts and Intro to Art teacher and Class of 2026 Senior Commission adviser, planning Grad Night does not fall under the Senior Commission’s typical events — of which include Senior Sunrise, Senior Luau/Sunset and Senior Breakfast. However, because the Grad Night Committee disbanded last year, the Class of 2025 Senior Commission assumed responsibility by assisting in planning the venue with assistance from Culinary and Fashion Design teacher Alissa Hernandez, Class of 2025 Senior Commission adviser.
“It’s not the Senior Commission’s role to plan Grad Night,” Pash said. “Last year was the only time the Senior Commission [of 2025] took on the responsibility to organize Grad Night, and that was only supposed to be a one-time thing.”
The dissolution of the Grad Night Committee was largely due to a turnover among parent volunteers. The committee had a consistent set of parents who continued to volunteer for Grad Night, some long after their own children graduated.
“We haven’t done a Disneyland Grad Night in a lot of years until [the 2024-2025 school year],” Lopez said. “There was actually a Grad Night Committee for [FVHS], and it was a group of parents who actually have been part of the committee for years, and their kids [have graduated].”
As of the 2024-2025 school year, the Grad Night Committee has been suspended indefinitely.
Additional logistical and legal factors further complicate the school’s involvement in the event. Because Grad Night takes place after commencement, participating students are no longer under the school’s jurisdiction.
“The intention is not for the school to run it,” Assistant Principal of Activities Brian Clark said. “The students have Grad Night after graduation … they’re not students of the school anymore, so [the school’s] responsibility to run Grad Night goes out the window.”
As the timing limits the school’s role in organizing the event, the primary challenge moving forward is rebuilding a consistent parent volunteer base to sustain the event in future years.
“It’s just trying to get a consistent volunteer program,” Lopez said. “If we can get this group of parents together, and they can continue to build our parent [volunteer] network, we can continue … to make Grad Night happen every year.”
