Tuesday, June 2, 2026

PUSD Schools Prepare to Send Off Class of 2026 at Civic Auditorium

Graduation ceremonies span two days for a class that endured the Eaton Fire’s aftermath

The Class of 2026 will graduate this week and next across five ceremonies, on two days and one stage inside the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, where seniors from every Pasadena Unified high school will collect their diplomas starting Wednesday.

For these seniors, the milestone comes less than 18 months after the Eaton Fire destroyed five PUSD campuses in Altadena in January 2025, closed schools for weeks, and displaced thousands of students and staff.

Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Blanco, in an email to the school community on June 1, called the graduates “leaders ready for the world.”

“As you walk across the stage at graduation, you embody the hopes and dreams of our community,” Blanco wrote. “Your journey through our schools has been shaped by academic achievement, resilience, leadership, and the lifelong friendships you built along the way.”

The ceremonies begin Wednesday, June 3, when the Center for Independent Study and Rose City High School hold a combined commencement at 2 p.m., followed by Blair High School at 6 p.m.

Three more follow on Thursday, June 4: John Muir High School at 11 a.m., Thurgood Marshall Secondary School at 2 p.m., and Pasadena High School at 6 p.m.

All five ceremonies take place at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, 300 E. Green Street, a 3,000-seat venue in the heart of the city’s Civic Center district.

June 4 is also the last day of school for PUSD students.

In her message, Blanco cited the breadth of the district’s academic offerings, dual language programs, visual and performing arts, STEAM, college and career academies, and athletics as pathways that shaped the graduating class.

“You have thrived in classrooms, laboratories, studios, theaters, athletic fields, and community spaces, guided by educators who prepared you for the world,” she wrote.

The district has also held pre-commencement celebrations in recent weeks, according to a PUSD press release, including a Latino Grad Celebration presented by PADRES and an annual Rites of Passage Ceremony honoring African American seniors, at which each graduate received a Kente stole to wear at their official ceremony.

“Carry forward the lessons you learned here,” Blanco wrote to graduates. “Stay curious, lead with empathy, and never underestimate the power of what you have learned. Congratulations, Class of 2026. We’re PUSD Proud!”

A separate graduation for Twilight Adult Education is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Monday, June 22, at Wilson Auditorium, 300 Madre Street, Pasadena, CA 91107. For more information, contact PUSD at (626) 396-3600 or visit www.pusd.us.

Generations of PUSD alumni have gone on to become educators, engineers, artists, and public servants, Blanco noted and now, she told the Class of 2026, it is their turn.