Academy Prep School to host graduation ceremony May 20 Published May 15, 2019 U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – Graduation events for the U.S. Air Force Academy Preparatory School are May 20. The approximately 200 cadet candidates graduating are scheduled to march in their graduation parade on Black Memorial Field at 9 a.m. and attend their graduation ceremony at 2 p.m. in Arnold Hall Theater. Each year, approximately 15 percent of the young men and women accepted into the Academy are Prep School graduates. The Prep School, established in 1961, motivates, prepares, and evaluates selected cadet candidates in an academic, military, moral, and physical environment to perform successfully and enhance diversity at the Academy.