It may be a promotion, completion or accomplishment, but the School Board won’t be callings eighth-graders “graduates” at their June ceremony this year.

On Tuesday, April 15, the School Board unanimously agreed to forego the eighth-grade graduation ceremony in exchange for a less formal way of showing recognition on June 17.

School officials have looked to possibly eliminate the pomp and circumstance of a formal graduation for more than a year while viewing the occasion as more of a celebration of transition rather than accomplishment.

“I think it’s important that we come up with something to recognize all the students. I don’t think it necessarily has to be a graduation ceremony,” said Woodbury Middle School Principal Maura Palmer.

Since the School Board first mentioned plans in November 2006 to change the format of the event, parents have been outspoken on the need for a graduation ceremony.

Last June, about 40 parents turned out to a meeting called to keep the graduation ceremony to recognize accomplishment, Palmer said.

Since then, Palmer said school staff put out a Web survey for parents to give more direction on what to do with the ceremony.

The survey, which received responses from 312 parents of the school’s 1,200 students, received comments that were 61 percent in favor of keeping a graduation ceremony.

“It’s difficult to read into the results because who’s responding?” Palmer said, recognizing that both parents in a single household could sway the survey results.

“I don’t think anyone disagrees that there should be some ceremony of accomplishment,” Superintendent Michael Delahanty said.

Delahanty advised that an informal gathering for breakfast and a recognition ceremony would be more appropriate.

“Having an eighth-grade graduation, having a diploma is a very dated concept,” he said.

“You need to have something different from a normal ceremony and an outing at Cedardale,” board member Robert Bryant said, speaking of the increase in glamorous outfits students and family were wearing to the events.