Rich Township High School, vendor apologize for typo on graduation stoles
MATTESON, Ill. (CBS) -- A south suburban high school and a graduation wear vendor are apologizing for an embarrassing typo – but some parents say that is not enough.
As CBS 2 reported last week, the graduation stole that students wore as they received their diplomas at Rich Township High School in Matteson read "gradutate" – with an extra T – instead of "graduate."
In a letter, the vendor offered to replace the stole – and the school plans to Photoshop graduation photos in which it appears.
But one parent told CBS 2 he was told the school had the misspelled gear three months before the ceremony – and believes that should have been plenty of time to correct the mistake.
On Wednesday, the school released the following statement:
"We are reaching out today to address an issue that has affected our recent graduates. We understand the importance of graduation, a significant milestone that should be celebrated without such mishaps. Regrettably, there was an error in the graduation sashes provided to us by our vendor, Herff Jones. This mistake went unnoticed until the sashes were distributed, and the graduates had already walked the stage, and for that, we sincerely apologize.
We have worked diligently with Herff Jones to resolve this matter promptly. We have already received replacement sashes with the correct spelling and will be mailing those along with the diplomas later in June. Furthermore, we have reached out to the graduation photographer to ensure that the pictures taken will not be affected by this error. They are in the process of photoshopping all pictures. We will be sending out communication when those pictures are available for purchase.
In addition, we want to assure all families that we are taking steps to prevent such mistakes in the future. This includes strengthening our quality control measures.
Finally, we want to take a moment to commend our graduates. Despite this hiccup, their achievements and resilience this year remain our primary focus. We are incredibly proud of them, and we look forward to celebrating their future accomplishments.
We sincerely thank all families for their understanding and patience as we worked through this situation."
