Anne Arundel County Public Schools is hosting 14 graduation ceremonies in the same venue over five days this week, each with roughly 500 seniors and thousands of adoring loved ones.

While these annual events are notorious for dragging on, particularly when there are hundreds of names to call, the school system has its ceremonies down to a science.

Last week, the district hosted seven such events for alternative graduation paths. This week, the 14 comprehensive high schools in the district will all host their own at Live! Casino & Hotel, a service the venue provides at no cost to the district in exchange for a county tax break. In the past, ceremonies were held at specific schools or the Equestrian Center; however the casino is free, spacious and indoors, and provides state-of-the-art sound and video equipment.

Crofton, Southern and Broadneck high schools were first up on Monday.

This year’s graduating seniors started high school amid the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, a fact not lost on school administrators.

“When I think about this class, one word rises above the rest, ‘relentless,’ ” said Southern High School’s principal, Angela Hopkins. “Here you are — stronger, wiser, more grounded. You didn’t just get through it. You grew through it.”

Putting together ceremonies for hundreds of students and corralling thousands of their family members also has its challenges. Each student is allowed six to eight guests, depending on the school size. The goal is to keep each ceremony under two hours, and on Monday, all ceremonies stayed within that limit.

Superintendent Mark Bedell has worked in several school districts, including Baltimore County, but said Anne Arundel’s venue and operation are optimal. Everyone can see, and everyone gets in and out within two hours.

“Some people have shifts to get to. There are people with reservations to catch,” said Bedell.

To make that happen, the week is extensively organized.

Anne Arundel’s first graduation at the venue was four years ago, and each year, the operation becomes more refined, according to Chief Communications Officer Bob Mosier.

Mosier — known among students and staff as the face of inclement weather days — leads coordination with all the schools, bouncing between the event floor and the greenroom, with a radio in his ear and a never-ending stream of questions to answer and fires to put out.

Managing three graduations in a day requires impeccable timing and hundreds of district employees. Each day this week, the first district employees arrive at the venue at 5 a.m., and the last leave as late as 10 p.m.

Dozens of employees from all over the district are tapped to direct parking. A team of AACPS-TV employees shoots videos of the ceremonies to stream on the district’s YouTube channel.

Each school’s staff is responsible for customizing their stage, developing their program and instructing students and families. The Office of Student and System Support handles security, and the Office of Academics determines who qualifies for a diploma in the first place.

All three ceremonies on Monday started as scheduled and ran exactly one hour and 30 minutes as planned.

Each school has its traditions. Spike the Bulldog, Southern High School’s mascot, is the star of their ceremony. Every year, their program features student art — this year by graduate Sofia Wilson — of the beloved dog, and a statue of Spike, clad in blue graduation robes, sits directly in front of the podium. Broadneck High School had a slideshow playing, showing photos of graduates next to photos of them as babies.

Each ceremony includes speeches by Superintendent Bedell, one board member, the school’s principal, the class president and a selected class speaker. Unlike traditional ceremonies where top academic performers speak, Anne Arundel’s student speakers are selected by a committee of school staff members.

All elected officials with schools in their jurisdiction are invited to attend and sit on stage. Counselors, administrators, feeder school principals and student speakers are seated on stage as well.

Students walk in alphabetical order, which requires them to arrive at least an hour before the ceremony to find their assigned waiting place.

Before walking across the stage, students hand a slip of paper with the phonetic spelling of their name to the person reading names to ensure they read the name correctly. They pick up a leather folder on stage, not their diploma. To avoid mix-ups, their diplomas are already at their seat, in an envelope at the end of each row.

After students move their tassel from the left to the right side of their cap, they proceed to the parking lot, where families are instructed to meet them.

At first, the area outside the building is thick with people taking photos, offering thank-yous and enjoying the moment. This is allowed for a short period before venue workers usher them along — after all, thousands of people are arriving for the next ceremony.

The next batch of graduates is lining up before the parking lot clears.

Meanwhile, the next school’s staff is inside resetting decorations and seat labels, sweeping for trash and unboxing the next diploma folders and programs. When Broadneck’s ceremony ended, staff from South River High School arrived, setting up for their 9 a.m. ceremony on Tuesday.

Students get off on their graduation day, but in between ceremonies, Bedell and central office staff fit in their regular job duties. He takes a moment for anyone who wants photos after ceremonies, but heads right back to the green room to work: he has employee performance reviews to finish this week and on Wednesday, he will attend a Board of Education meeting virtually in between ceremonies for Severn Run and Arundel High.

The previous superintendent did not speak at any of the ceremonies, but Bedell does — all 14 this week and seven last week.

He has a handful of prepared remarks to choose from, but often he speaks from instinct, based on what he feels the audience needs to hear. A central theme in his remarks this year: Don’t forget about this school district.

“Come back and mentor, volunteer or intern in our school district in an effort to support the next generation,” Bedell urged Crofton’s students.

In all the ceremonies, Bedell has shared this Kobe Bryant quote: “No matter what, people are going to like you or not like you. So be authentic and let them like you or not for who you actually are.”

Have a news tip? Contact Bridget Byrne at bbyrne@baltsun.com or 443-690-7205