The Mehlville School District has moved graduations for Oakville and Mehlville high schools to the Family Arena in St. Charles, after the Chaifetz Arena in the city of St. Louis canceled the schools’ scheduled July 19 graduation.

The district says the graduation will be in-person and on the previously announced date, which had been rescheduled once before to July 19.

The new venue will keep the same schedule of 1:30 p.m. for Oakville High School’s graduation and 6 p.m. for Mehlville High School.

Mehlville held its graduations at Family Arena for many years until this year, when the district switched to try to hold its ceremony at Chaifetz. Family Arena is located at 2002 Arena Parkway, St. Charles, 63303. 

St. Charles does not have the same restrictions on crowd size or large events as the city of St. Louis or St. Louis County.

The community has organized drive-by graduation parades for Oakville High School, but so far the district has not organized any official events for its Classes of 2020.

Assistant Superintendent Jeff Bresler said in an email to graduates that the district heard from them and their families that they preferred an in-person graduation ceremony held before August, when students will go their separate ways.

“We have held numerous graduations at Family Arena in the past, and we know we can provide a fitting commencement for the Class of 2020 at this venue,” Bresler wrote.

See Bresler’s full letter below:

“Dear Class of 2020 Families and Students,

We have good news! We have secured the Family Arena in St. Charles for the Class of 2020 Graduation on July 19, 2020. We will keep the same schedule with Oakville High School’s graduation starting at 1:30 p.m., and Mehlville High School’s graduation starting at 6 p.m. Family Arena is located at 2002 Arena Parkway, St. Charles, MO, 63303.

Thank you for your patience this week. When Chaifetz canceled on Monday, we knew we wanted to find a new location for an in-person graduation. Our students and families have indicated that they prefer an in-person graduation ceremony. We have held numerous graduations at Family Arena in the past, and we know we can provide a fitting commencement for the Class of 2020 at this venue. You can expect more information from your high school principals in the next few weeks with details about your school’s graduation.

We are looking forward to honoring our graduates and their achievements on July 19!

Sincerely,

Dr. Jeff Bresler
Assistant Superintendent, Supervision of Schools”