One day after a scathing state report accused five William Fleming High School administrators of manipulating standardized tests, the school's 350 graduates celebrated their commencement Friday in a festive ceremony.

Principal Susan Willis, who was named in the report, did not attend the ceremony, even though the program listed her as one of the speakers. Two assistant principals were also absent, leaving several empty chairs on the stage at the Roanoke Civic Center.

Thursday's report found that Willis inappropriately rearranged class schedules for at least 31 students with disabilities over the past two years to prevent them from taking Standards of Learning tests, which are a requirement to earn a standard high school diploma. Besides Willis, the report said two assistant principals, the school's testing coordinator and the special education chairperson were complicit in the fixing of course schedules.

Willis has not returned calls for comment.

Roanoke school officials have declined to say whether Willis and the other administrators are still employed by the district. The Roanoke School Board has scheduled a closed-door meeting Monday to discuss personnel matters.

Patrick Henry High School, which was not implicated in the state report, held its graduation ceremony Friday afternoon.

Talk of the investigation rippled through the crowd in the morning with proud parents and friends of Fleming graduates saying it was unfortunate that the report's release coincided with graduation.

"I hate that she gave us this controversy, but you've got to do it right," said Christa Hall, whose son Dionte Hall will attend the University of Virginia's College at Wise on a football scholarship.

Hall said she was "disappointed at the course of action she [Willis] chose. You've got to be a role model. That's her position."

Others were willing to forget about the controversy swirling around the school for a day.

"I don't care about that as long as he graduates," said Christine Reed, referring to her nephew Tyron Jones, who was among the graduates.

"I'd like to think that the graduates today are past that and look toward the future and not be in any way skeptical of their achievements," said Warren McCaden, whose goddaughter, Leah Taylor, is headed to North Carolina A&T State University.

Taylor had not heard about the testing controversy at William Fleming and was surprised not to see Willis at the ceremony. Some of her classmates felt the same way.

"I couldn't believe it," said Justin Lawrence.

Shannequa Jackson said she would have liked to see her principal at the civic center.

"I think they should have let her come to our graduation regardless," she said, noting that Willis had been at the graduation rehearsal on Thursday. "Some students were upset and crying."

But students did not seem all that upset once the ceremony got under way, judging by the pandemonium that erupted inside the civic center when Vice Mayor Sherman Lea said he was feeling a little "Colonel pride." Fleming Assistant Principals Ruth Claytor and Susan Morris took over Willis' duties during the ceremony, which included reading the names of every graduate to thunderous applause, cheers and the bleats of air horns.

Poet and Virginia Tech professor Nikki Giovanni, the guest speaker, reminded graduates of the story of Christopher Columbus, who left a comfortable life in Genoa, Italy, to find new worlds.

"You know what? He never did go back to Genoa, and that is the point. We sail on," she said. "You are graduating. You must sail on."

The Class of 2009 will be the final group of students to attend the old William Fleming High School. In September, students will move into a brand-new $57 million building still under construction. Over the past several years, Willis had said she was looking forward to moving to the new school.

"She thought she was going to be part of the new William Fleming," said Maisha Benn, a 2007 Fleming graduate who did not have fond recollections of Willis.

"There's a lot of good teachers that left and a lot of kids are missing out on a good quality education," she said.