Newton South High School Prom 'Hangs In The Balance'

NEWTON, MA — For the past three months, the seniors at Newton South High School have been planning a way to have a safe prom and follow COVID guidelines. Then, state officials encouraged schools to skip prom for the second year because of the pandemic.

The news landed hard on students and staff who had already drafted a COVID-aware prom and gotten it approved.

"Right now, the event hangs in the balance as we wait for Superintendent Fleishman to make a final decision on whether to allow our Prom to happen," said Newton South High School Class of 2021 president Benjamin Moshes. That decision is set to happen this week, he said.

So Moshes created a petition this weekend calling on Health Commissioner Deborah Youngblood and Superintendent David Fleishman to let the class of 2021 have their prom outdoors.

More than 460 people have signed it as of Monday, including both seniors and their parents.

Is the state banning prom?

It's not a ban, but updated guidance from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education called the rite of passage "an inherently high-risk activity, as it is a social gathering that involves dancing and singing (both of which are activities with increased respiration)."

The guidance "strongly recommends" schools come up with alternative celebrations for seniors, rather than hold the dance.

Alternatively, if schools insist on holding the dance, DESE asks that they wait until the end of the school year, when more students might be vaccinated.

"When I heard the state recommendation, I thought one thing: It’s much easier for them to just say no to us, instead of working with us to make a great, safe prom," Moshes said.

Having an event outdoors with constant air flow and masks has to be safer than eating without masks in a lunchroom, he said.

Guidelines

Moshes said the planning committee —the event is being planned by the deans, class advisers, the PTSO, and 2021 class officers— has also circulated a survey to seniors during the weekend. Of the 50 seniors who have so far returned results, 95.7 percent have plans to be fully vaccinated by the June 6 day of the prom, he said.

He said the survey asked students to rate how important the prom was to them on a scale of 1 to 10. The result right now is hovering around a 9.3.

DESE has said if a school chooses to go ahead with prom, the dance must follow event guidelines, including wearing masks, keeping a distance, and abiding by the capacity limits, which mean no more than 100 people can be indoors at an event, or 150 outdoors. The plan for prom at Newton South includes two large tents spread out on the high school baseball field with capacity for 250 people each, but meant to have no more than 150 under them at a time.

When the plan was finalized, it contained dozens of COVID safety measures and included a detailed floor plan that spread across the baseball and football fields. This proposal has already been approved by the Newton South deans and the principal.

The students point out that Newton already does pool testing, so all seniors will be able to get tested before, and after, they attend.

By the time prom rolls around on June 6, seniors will have had more than 1.5 months of vaccine eligibility.

There will be dozens of chaperones to ensure that masking and distancing rules are upheld, even during the dancing, according to the plan.

Moshes is convinced students will follow all the rules.

"People already follow them in school, they don't want to get kicked out," he said. "I'm confident that they'll want to keep the event intact."

"Overall, Prom is safe, thoroughly planned, and important to the Seniors," the petition reads. "Class of 2021 is not just a number, but a group of individuals who deserve to be celebrated and heard."

Students at South are hoping for a decision to be made public this week.

Julie McDonough, who is the spokesperson for the school district, indicated on behalf of Superintendent David Fleishman that the district was aware of the petition.

"South is working closely with HHS to review the new guidelines issued by DESE and revise the event to conform to those guidelines," McDonough said in an email. "South is committed to hosting an event that abides by the health and safety guidelines set forth by DESE and is approved by Newton HHS."