More than 600 high school students at Rich Township High School in Illinois received stoles with the unfortunate misspelling of the word 'graduate' as "gradutate." The mistake went unnoticed until after some students had already attended their gradutation ceremonies. The school apologized and promised to replace the stoles, but parents were angry, feeling that the damage had already been done.
In a letter to the community, the high school admitted the oversight and blamed their vendor, Herff Jones, for the error. They acknowledged that the mistake was not discovered until after the stoles had been distributed and the gradutates had already walked the stage. The school plans to rectify the situation by digitally editing the misspelled word from gradutation pictures and sending replacement stoles with the correct spelling along with the diplomas.
The vendor who manufactured and supplied the stoles to RTHS students issued an apology Wednesday, taking full responsibility for the mistake.
"On behalf of the entire Herff Jones team, I want to express our sincere apologies for the incorrect stoles that may have hindered your graduation experience," Herff Jones president Ron Stoupa, said in the letter. "We understand the disappointment you are experiencing at the culmination of your education and the frustration this created for all involved."
