# Dunbar graduates celebrate milestone at Rupp Arena **Published:** 2026-06-08T15:25:00.000Z **Source:** [Fayette County Public Schools](https://www.fcps.net/post-details/~board/fayette-county-public-schools-news/post/fcps-salutes-dunbars-of-2026) **AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) **Canonical:** https://feeds.lexingtonky.news/article/dunbar-graduates-celebrate-milestone-at-rupp-arena LEXINGTON, Ky. — Paul Laurence Dunbar High School's Class of 2026 celebrated their graduation on June 5 in a ceremony at Rupp Arena, concluding [Fayette County Public Schools' two-day graduation showcase](https://www.fcps.net/post-details/~board/fayette-county-public-schools-news/post/fcps-salutes-dunbars-of-2026). The Dunbar ceremony wrapped up the district's commencement schedule as the final of six high school graduations held across the system. [Dunbar's graduation began at 6 p.m., following earlier ceremonies for Tates Creek High School at 10 a.m. and Bryan Station High School at 2 p.m.](https://www.fcps.net/post-details/~board/fayette-county-public-schools-news/post/fcps-announces-2026-graduations-lineup) The preceding day, June 4, saw graduation ceremonies for Frederick Douglass, Henry Clay and Lafayette high schools, with [ceremonies held throughout the day](https://www.fcps.net/news-calendars/calendar). [Paul Laurence Dunbar High School](https://pld.fcps.net/), known as one of the top schools in [Fayette County Public Schools](https://www.fcps.net/), has built a reputation for academic excellence in science, technology and mathematics. The school serves approximately 2,000 students in grades 9 through 12. The district's graduation schedule required significant traffic management in downtown Lexington, where the ceremonies were held. [The Lexington Police Department deployed 27 officers to manage traffic and expected to maintain a presence at Rupp Arena for at least 12 hours on each graduation day.](https://www.wkyt.com/2026/06/04/fayette-county-graduations-expected-cause-traffic-delays-downtown-lexington/) [The formal announcement of graduation dates for the Class of 2026 was made by Superintendent Demetrus Liggins during a school board meeting on March 26](https://www.fcps.net/post-details/~board/fayette-county-public-schools-news/post/fcps-announces-2026-graduations-lineup), allowing families adequate time to plan for the milestone event. ## Sources - [Fayette County Public Schools](https://www.fcps.net/post-details/~board/fayette-county-public-schools-news/post/fcps-salutes-dunbars-of-2026) - [FCPS announces 2026 graduations lineup](https://www.fcps.net/post-details/~board/fayette-county-public-schools-news/post/fcps-announces-2026-graduations-lineup) - [Paul Laurence Dunbar High School](https://pld.fcps.net/) - [Fayette County Public Schools](https://www.fcps.net/) - [Traffic delays during Fayette County graduations](https://www.wkyt.com/2026/06/04/fayette-county-graduations-expected-cause-traffic-delays-downtown-lexington/) - [District Calendar - FCPS](https://www.fcps.net/news-calendars/calendar) --- This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Fayette County Public Schools, enriched with 2 web searches. The original source is available at https://www.fcps.net/post-details/~board/fayette-county-public-schools-news/post/fcps-salutes-dunbars-of-2026.