Prom decision delayed until fall

Debates surround allowing freshmen to attend prom, if they are invited by a senior or junior class member

A decision on whether to continue allowing freshmen to attend the Perry High School prom won’t be made until fall.

That announcement came at the Perry School Board meeting on July 17. It marked the first time that the panel had gathered since June 26, when a discussion and debate took place on the issue of allowing freshmen to attend the Perry High School prom, if they are invited by a senior or junior class member.

Perry Schools Superintendent Jack Thompson said at the July 17 meeting that he had discussed the subject with High School Principal Todd Porcello, who developed a proposal that will allow students’ voices to be heard on the prom question.

“His plan is to put together a group of student leaders and talk about the issue, and they will go out and speak with their constituents and then come back and come up with a decision on whether or not freshmen will be allowed to attend prom next year,” Thompson said.

The issue of freshmen attending the prom arose at the June 26 meeting after the board had been asked to approve 2018-19 student handbooks for Perry High, Middle and Elementary schools, as recommended by Thompson and building principals.

Before a vote could be taken to approve the handbooks collectively, board Vice President Andrew Roberts raised an issue with a policy regarding Perry freshmen being permitted to attend the prom.

The policy states: “Although all Perry High School students are welcomed to attend prom, freshmen and sophomores must be invited by a junior or senior in order

to attend.” The wording is slightly different than the rule in last year’s handbook, which said, “All guests must be of sophomore rank or higher.”

However, a separate decision made in the spring by Porcello allowed freshmen, when invited by a senior or junior, to attend the 2018 prom.

“My suggestion would be either going back to language we had before where freshmen weren’t allowed to prom, or we pose the question to juniors and seniors or the prom committee itself,” Roberts said.

Roberts said he believes that many 14- and 15-yearolds — the typical age range for freshmen — haven’t achieved the proper maturity level to attend a high school prom.

“My personal feeling is that a 14- or 15-year-old at a prom isn’t always a good thing,” he said.

About five Perry freshmen attended the 2018 prom, and these students caused no problems, board member Ashley Hacking said at the June 26 meeting. She added that the prom is a chaperoned event and all students who attend the event must follow school rules.

Roberts wasn’t swayed by Hacking’s statements, and reemphasized the community’s reaction after freshmen attended the 2018 prom.

“I think the community spoke, I think a lot of students have spoke and I think a lot of parents have spoke,” he said. “I think to ignore that, based on the past history of what’s happened in this district, is very flippant.”

At the July 17 meeting, Melissa Nowosielski, whose daughter was one of the freshmen who attended the 2018 prom, questioned what Roberts meant on June 26 when he said “the community spoke” on freshmen attending the event.

“Who did you speak to? I’m curious to know,” she said. “I have a long list of parents

“I think the community spoke, I think a lot of students have spoke and I think a lot of parents have spoke.” — Vice President Andrew Roberts

and students who think (forbidding freshmen to attend the prom) is simply absurd.”

Nowosielski also questioned the wisdom of any board member second-guessing the decision that Porcello made last spring.

“I would ask, what you are gaining from this?” she said. “This is what you have gained: a divided community; something else to argue about on our community page; bullying, and not just from students now, but from the parents — is this worth it, disputing something so minute?”

Nowosielski also said at the time her daughter was invited to the prom as a ninth-grader, she carried a 4.5 grade-point average, In addition, her daughter performed community service and participated in high school sports as a freshman.

“I state all of this because when it’s suggested that freshmen are too immature to attend a school dance, it’s insulting not only to me, but to my daughter,” Nowosielski said.

Roberts said he appreciated Nowosielski’s feedback and responded to her comments.

“I think my point to address what was shared earlier ... is that this was a wellknown policy in the district and I thought this should be communicated and talked about in an open forum with possibly more than just a few folks,” he said. “So that’s all I wanted, was to have a level playing field to make decisions like that, since we do approve the handbook and we are responsible for things that result in handbook changes.”