‘Horrific’ graduation speech at NC high school leads deputy superintendent to resign
A school district administrator has resigned after a rambling graduation speech at a North Carolina high school over the weekend.
On Friday, Deputy Superintendent Vicki Calvert addressed the graduating seniors at South Stanly High School in Norwood — about an hour east of Charlotte — in a speech marred by incoherent sentences. A school district official said she was immediately placed on paid leave pending an investigation.
Calvert has since resigned from Stanly County Schools, Superintendent Dr. Jarrod Dennis said in a statement Monday. Calvert could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
“I do want to apologize to those in attendance Friday night at South Stanly High School’s graduation,” Dennis said. “High School graduation is a special event for our seniors, their families, and the school staff. Obviously, Friday night’s graduation did not live up to my expectations or those of Stanly County Schools.”
In Calvert’s opening remarks, shown during a five-minute clip published by WJZY, she seems to forget what class is graduating.
“I would welcome you here to the class of uh, 20... 21 South Stanly High School, high school graduation ceremony. Wow,” Calvert said in the video. “I would like to thank you for giving me the honor and opportunity to celebrate with all of you this evening.”
She goes on to say that “when I first began my career at Stanly County, it was with Stanly County” and that it was “really special” to get to speak at South Stanly High School’s graduation. Calvert then launched into an anecdote about keeping her speech “concise.”
“So I wrote out my speech and I sent it to our superintendent, Dr. Dennis, and said so everything has to say, please consider it, and, if it has meaning, good, if it doesn’t, mark it out. So I sent it to him, and then, um, I sent it to him,” Calvert appears to say in the video before losing her train of thought. “So in conclusion... this is going to be a short speech, seriously.”
She also thanked the parents and other family sitting in the audience.
“You know what, you went from putting your child in a house seat to putting them in a driver’s seat,” Calvert appears to say. “You went from putting them in diapers to graduation gowns they’re wearing tonight. Parents, caregivers, be silent for just a minute, soak this moment in, you deserve it.”
A representative for the school district declined to comment on Calvert’s conduct, citing a “personnel matter.” Parents and other guests, meanwhile, expressed some anger over the situation.
“Within the first five minutes, we could tell there was something wrong,” parent Diane Barrier told WSOC. “The crowd became very anxious.”
“We wouldn’t think someone of her authority would show up at a high school graduation intoxicated like that,” she added, according to the TV station.
In a post on Facebook urging the school board to address the incident, another guest called Calvert’s speech “horrific.”
A few commenters, however, urged others to show some mercy.
“I hope (Calvert) gets the help she needs and is clearly crying out for,” one person said in a Facebook post Monday. “I hope the Seniors she spoke to at Graduation use this experience as a lesson. Last, and most certainly not least, I pray she fills her life with individuals that will support her in getting the help she needs.”
Calvert has worked for the school district for 11 years, WBTV reported.
According to her LinkedIn page, she served as director of elementary and middle schools, director of human resources and interim superintendent at earlier points in her career.
She was promoted to deputy superintendent in March, according to the district’s Facebook page.
This story was originally published June 1, 2021 at 4:31 PM with the headline "‘Horrific’ graduation speech at NC high school leads deputy superintendent to resign."
