'They've Missed So Much Already': North Texas Parents Plan Homecoming Dance After School District Cancels Due To COVID-19
JUSTIN, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - Parents determined to give their kids a normal school year are organizing a homecoming dance on their own, after Northwest ISD decided to cancel the tradition due to concerns over spreading COVID-19.
Tickets for the parent-planned dance for students at Northwest High School will go on sale through an app next week.
Hundreds of people have joined a planning page on Facebook for the event, and organizers said students at other high schools in the school district have even inquired about going, disappointed their own dances are cancelled.
The idea all came together in a few days this week, organized by parents who had never met before, and whose kids weren't in the same social circles, but all wanted to save the fall tradition.
"I think our heart's in it," said Cassie Samons, one of the organizers whose daughter is a senior at Northwest. "They've missed so much already and we're just not willing to let them miss anything else."
Parents put down their own money for a deposit on a hotel banquet room in Southlake.
They have secured a DJ, photographer, and are working on plans for security and chaperones.
Students will have to follow all the rules set out in the school code of conduct, the event just won't be sanctioned by the school.
NWISD is aware of the plans. When asked about the district's position on the event, a spokesman didn't comment directly on what parents are planning but in a statement wrote that the decision not to host dances is a mitigation technique. The district doesn't believe an event with students facing each other for long periods of time would be protecting them.
In a presentation on Facebook earlier this month, district superintendent Ryder Warren said not sponsoring dances was "just common sense right now."
The organizing parents said they aren't trying to make any political stand by organizing their own event, they just wanted to do something for their kids.
Jenn Moore, one of the parents behind the effort, pointed out that seniors this year have only had one year of school, their freshman year, that has not been impacted by the virus.
"We're going to try to make things happen for our kids," she said. "And keep the senior year as normal as possible."