Derry Area parents organize Hollywood-themed prom for students following school prom’s cancellation
Share this post:
Derry Area High School students walked across their very own red carpet Saturday night into a Hollywood-themed prom planned by parents after Derry’s prom was canceled.
“We (were) happy to do it,” said Linette Copelli, one of about 20 parent organizers. “Those kids have stepped up and shown a strength that other classes haven’t had to show.”
The prom, which was held at Huber Hall in Latrobe, featured movie-themed tables for dinner, valet parking, a mocktail bar, twinkle ceiling lights, photo-ops, a DJ for dancing and a variety of food served on china.
Copelli’s daughter, Gianna, said she’s thankful for the opportunity to go to prom, especially as a senior whose junior prom was canceled last year.
“This is the one time out of the whole school year that we (were) able to experience something normal,” Gianna said. “We were (kind of) already at our lowest point when the community and parents came together and said, ‘OK, we’ll show them how to have a voice,’ and stood up for us. … All of the students are so appreciative of that.”
Copelli said the event was possible largely due to donations from local businesses, community members and parents toward supplies, decorations and food. A raffle raised $5,000, and a GoFundMe page raised $1,300.
“We’ve had a lot of outpouring from the community more so than not that … someone was stepping up for the kids,” Copelli said. “There were people in the community that helped us sell tickets that don’t have kids in the district.”
Local businesses that provided donations or services include Rosemary’s Country Kitchen, Ianni’s, Pitstop Pizza, Dairy Queen, Unity Printing Co., Windswept Promotions, Ridge Insurance, Walmart, Giant Eagle, Lowe’s and DJ Lizzie Bling & The Camo King.
Effort fraught with obstacles
However, amid support for the parent-sponsored event, Copelli said, the organizers and students planning to attend “faced opposition every step of the way.”
According to Heidi Byers, another parent organizer, Derry’s prom initially was scheduled to be at a restaurant in downtown Pittsburgh, with the after-prom party at Dave & Buster’s. Soon after, the decision was made to go ahead with the prom but cancel the after-prom party, she said.
Then, with new coronavirus regulations that required prom to be held inside Westmoreland County, Byers said Derry decided to move the prom to a barn in Ligonier, which many of the students weren’t interested in because of “certain restrictions,” such as a 10-day quarantine after attending.
Gianna said the 10 days after Derry’s prom would’ve included culminating high school events such as WPIAL playoffs for certain sports and final music concerts, which students — seniors especially — would’ve had to miss.
“Seniors wouldn’t have been allowed to finish their careers,” Copelli said. “The kids decided the school-sponsored prom was not worth it.”
Official prom canceled; now what?
Copelli said the attendance number for Derry’s official prom dropped to about 20, which is when the school decided to cancel the event.
“We definitely were very disappointed and really sad when that happened,” Gianna said. “From there, we found out the schools around us (weren’t) making the students choose.”
Additionally, Gianna said students who intended on going to Derry’s prom already had filled out papers with their prom dates and paid for event tickets when the prom was canceled.
“When they (sent out the papers), that was the ‘OK, wow, this is actually really happening,’” Gianna said. “When they canceled it, all these girls had these new dresses, and all these guys had these tuxes with nowhere to go.”
Alisha Mauro, a graduating senior, was one of those girls.
“Most people in my class already bought a dress,” Mauro said. “I was kind of upset at first and kind of angry because all of our neighboring schools are having a prom, and they’re still doing everything that our school said we could not do.”
Gianna added some prom dresses can cost upwards of $500, and girls were already starting to get alterations.
“That’s why it was very important for us (to plan a parent-sponsored prom),” Byers said. “Not only do they need some normalcy and some fun, but there’s a lot of money tied up with their outfits and things.”
Prom vs. no prom
After parents decided to plan a separate prom, though, Copelli said there were some school board members who were “very vocal and very against” the idea.
“There were threats that if the kids attended the prom, they would not be allowed to go to graduation,” Copelli said, “but they were not direct threats written from the school board.”
Copelli claims teachers told students they were “irresponsible” if they chose to attend the parent-sponsored prom.
“We also feel that the kids were needlessly stressed and placed under ridicule for attending. … We almost had a ‘promers’ versus ‘non-promers’ mentality going on within the school.”
However, Copelli said there were some teachers “behind the scenes” who supported the event but couldn’t “overly support it for fear of retribution from the school board.”
Why the district canceled
Dave Krinock, Derry’s school board president, said the prom was canceled last second because of students’ lack of interest in various options offered by the district under Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.
“We were not going to risk almost 1,900 students for 50 or 60 kids who wanted to go to the prom,” Krinock said. “I understand completely their feelings and thoughts, (but the board had) to worry about getting through graduation.”
Many parents were open with the school board during meetings and asked various questions, resulting in “good” communication between the groups, Krinock said.
“The administration and teachers had to jump through hoops. … Nobody understands the work that went behind keeping schools open during this time,” Krinock said. “There’s really not much we can say about (functions outside of school).”
Krinock said the students “deserve” to have a great time, and he’s glad “they’re doing something.”
“It came to a quarantining issue. … Chaperones would’ve had to get subs,” Krinock said. “There’s no animosity.”
In the end, prom takes place
In terms of covid-19 safety, Copelli said the parent-sponsored prom used a staggered start for students to arrive at a designated time between 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. to avoid crowds at the door.
When students arrived with their tickets, they needed to bring a signed waiver and have their temperatures checked.
Additionally, Copelli said Huber Hall’s capacity is 300, and with 88 kids expected to attend, the prom was just under a 30% capacity.
For the dinner portion of the evening, students were offered a semi-buffet-style meal parent volunteers served, given new plates and cups when going back for seconds and seated with their friends in “covid bubbles,” Copelli said.
“The prom committee has been awesome,” Byers said. “There’s a huge amount of parents that put a lot of time and work in this.”
Ultimately, Mauro said the parent-sponsored prom turned out “for the better.”
“Going through senior year during the pandemic was definitely very stressful,” Mauro said. “I’m glad we get something out of this year.”