JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Samantha Matthews missed her junior prom last year because of the coronavirus pandemic. It was a milestone she was really looking forward to at the time. "At least she'd have her senior prom," she would rationalize. Now, that's being taken away too.
Just days before Mandarin High School was scheduled to host its modified outdoor prom, school principal Sara Bravo announced they had to cancel. Now, at least seven other schools are doing the same.
Duval Schools confirmed with the Times-Union Wednesday that seven additional schools: Edward White, Englewood, Stanton, A. Philip Randolph, Darnell Cookman, Andrew Jackson and Wolfson high schools have also canceled their respective proms.
Bravo said the school was forced to cancel because of the low interest among students. She added that only 44 of the school's nearly 600 seniors purchased tickets and that the school needed to sell 250 tickets to fund the event.
Students across Duval County have expressed mixed reviews regarding this year's prom plans.
Duval County High students: Want to stay home for the week? Attend prom
While they acknowledged that it was better than nothing — last year's prom was canceled altogether districtwide — the COVID-19 precautions in place meant the events would be held outdoors on school campuses (instead of a fancy venue) right as Jacksonville begins to warm up, masks would be required and students weren't able to take dates from other schools.
"I was not planning on going to prom. It was a $50 ticket and at the school courtyard. I felt like it was a waste of money," Mark Wydler, a junior at the school said. "Change and adaption is not always the best. Usually prom would be at a fancy place on the river or something, but it's changed now and students don't want to spend their night at school."
Additionally, as part of Duval County Public Schools' prom guidance, anyone that attended would have to quarantine for 10 days, using Duval HomeRoom to do classwork virtually and missing extracurricular activities or sports. Student athletes said the quarantine period put them in a double-bind situation where they'd have to choose between attending prom and being there for their respective teams.
From 2020:Teens make their own proms amid shutdown
Still, students like Matthews say canceling the event last minute was unfair to the students who already purchased tickets and were willing to jump through the hoops required to attend.
"I'm pretty outraged," she said. "I had an outfit, I had a date. The class of 2021 will not have a prom night story because of this decision."
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Principal Bravo said additional fundraising that would help fund prom during a typical school year wasn't possible because of the coronavirus pandemic. Students like Matthews who purchased tickets will be fully refunded.
“I am deeply sorry for the small number of students who wished to attend and truly hope they are able to enjoy the other events planned such as Senior Kickball, Sunrise and Sunset Celebrations, Senior Week, Senior Breakfast and of course, the long-awaited commencement ceremony,” Bravo said in the email.
Emily Bloch is an education reporter for The Florida Times-Union. Follow her on Twitter or email her.
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