Abington, PA — Let a little June North American haze stop you from graduating? Not a chance that it would stop our dedicated Abington High School graduates, the Class of 2023.
Abington High School Seniors, despite poor air quality and difficult breathing conditions maintained the school district’s nearly 95% graduation rate by holding 2023 Commencement at Schwarzman Stadium in Abington, PA on Wednesday afternoon.
The High School setup monitors for viewing in the gymnasium next door for anyone who did not want to contend with the haze and the smog.
Philadelphia and its suburbs have been dealing with a thick, smoky, haze that has settled in over the greater Philadelphia region for the past several days.
The National Weather Service put out a Code Orange Air Quality Alert that covers Pennsylvania and Delaware. New Jersey, Philadelphia, the Lehigh Valley, and Pennsylvania suburbs are under a Red Flag Warning and New Jersey and part of Delaware are under a coastal flooding alert.
Combined with unusually dry conditions, the smoky haze is from more than 400 fires burning in the west of Canada (British Columbia, Alberta) to the east (Nova Scotia and Quebec.)
The original Abington Township High School was located at 1801 Susquehanna Road was built in 1888 and still stands today. The current building was constructed in 1956. Abington Senior High School was recognized as a Blue Ribbon High School in 1998–1999. In 2022, the High School opened a new expansion wing, the Stephen A. Schwarzman Center for Science and Technology which was only a portion of a $104 million renovation project at the High School.
This group of determined graduating seniors will not allow obstacles like poor air quality stop them from achieving their dreams. Or their diplomas.
Congratulations to all of our seniors.
Michael Thomas Leibrandt lives and works in Abington, PA.
