Eden Prairie High School moves graduation date to accommodate Muslim holiday

Eden Prairie High School has a new graduation date — one that will not conflict with the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha.

The district this week announced that its commencement ceremony, originally planned for June 7, will instead be moved to June 4. The change was made after families expressed concern that the original date fell during Eid al-Adha, a four-day celebration that translates to “festival of sacrifice.”

“We heard from members of our community that our original plan wouldn’t allow all graduates to be included, despite our efforts to ensure everyone could attend,” read a note to families from Superintendent Josh Swanson.

Because Islam uses the lunar calendar, the exact date of Eid al-Adha changes. This year, it falls in early June at a time when schools across Minnesota typically schedule their graduation ceremonies. In the metro area, that’s already a complicated logistical process as districts jockey for time at the venues big enough to hold crowds of cheering families, often booking them a year in advance.

Eden Prairie appears to be the only district that has changed its graduation in response to the holiday, but other districts, including Minneapolis, have ceremonies planned during Eid al-Adha.

Erica Wacker, spokeswoman for St. Paul Public Schools, said it takes a lot of planning to arrange her district’s 16 graduation ceremonies at multiple venues. Roy Wilkins Auditorium is the only St. Paul venue large enough to host graduation for the city’s biggest high schools, she said, and graduation dates need to line up with the last week of school and be held before the last day of school.

“It’s a competitive process as there are many other schools that have their graduation ceremonies at the same venue, and dates need to be reserved almost a year in advance,” she wrote in a statement.

None of St. Paul’s are planned during Eid al-Adha.

Schools have adjusted their calendars for other holidays, adding Eid al-Fitr and the Jewish high holy days of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur as holidays on the school calendar. In 2021, some districts changed the first day of the school year due to the timing of Rosh Hashanah.

Imam Asad Zaman, executive director of the Muslim American Society of Minnesota, commended the Eden Prairie district for choosing a new graduation date.

“This change is a victory for inclusion and equity that should be celebrated by everyone — Muslim and non-Muslim alike," Zaman said in a statement. “Just as it would be unthinkable to schedule a graduation on Christmas Day, being intentional about not scheduling it on Eid demonstrates public respect, love, and a shared commitment to equity and understanding.”

Finding the right graduation location requires consideration of travel time for families and venue capacity, in addition to the calendar.

In recent years, the Eastern Carver County school district faced criticism for hosting its graduation at a local church — a choice the district made to accommodate a larger number of guests.

Landing a large venue takes advance planning, but can’t always be nailed down until just a few months out — some locations wouldn’t confirm dates until January, according to a district message that went to Eden Prairie families.

The Eden Prairie superintendent’s recent letter also included a survey with three options for dates and locations. Families overwhelmingly chose June 4 at U.S. Bank Stadium.

One of the other options, hosting it at the high school, would have required a limit on tickets: Each graduate would have only been able to invite two family members or friends.

Eden Prairie’s graduation planning team conducted a survey last fall to understand families' preferences for venue size and location. As part of that process, the team also “intentionally engaged leaders” in the city’s Muslim community to determine the original date, according to the district’s website.

However, the survey sent to families wasn’t translated into Somali. And because the district doesn’t gather or maintain data on students’ or families’ religious beliefs or preferences, it was difficult to gather representative feedback from the district families who practice Islam, read the statement on the website.

“We have heard the concern from our community about how we engaged members of the Muslim community and will continue working to do better in the future,” read a recent message to families.