At most Johnson County high schools, students will miss out on the opportunity to get dressed to the nine’s, dance and celebrate the end of their high school careers with their closest friends.
Center Grove, Clark-Pleasant, Franklin and Greenwood schools have all canceled their proms in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Edinburgh Community High School is still deciding whether to hold its. And Indian Creek High School is pressing ahead, deciding on a barn as its venue of choice.
The prom will take place at 7 p.m. July 11 at the Barn at Timber Ridge in Morgantown, due to the efforts of a group of parents who wanted to ensure their children had the opportunity to experience the high school milestone, said Amy Woodrum, event organizer and member of the parent group Brave Backers, which helped raise money for post-prom activities through fundraisers at sporting events that took place before schools closed in March.
When another part of post-prom, at Kentucky Kingdom, was canceled, it allowed the parents to use that money to ease students’ financial burden when it came to prom. Another part of post-prom, at Urban Air in Franklin, is still scheduled to take place.
“We have seen community and leadership at the school,” Woodrum said. “There’s been fundraisers throughout the year to put this together and some really great parent support … We definitely see the value in keeping kids safe, we just felt it was a very important milestone and really wanted to let them have that experience if at all possible.”
Through those fundraisers, which included three-point shooting contests and boys’ and girls’ basketball games, Brave Backers was able raised about $10,000. Post-prom is now free for students, who will also not have to pay an admission fee to attend prom, she said.
The parents have ensured both venues will be properly sanitized to try and avoid the spread of COVID-19 among the almost 200 seniors and their dates. Students will check in with photo identification and a waiver acknowledging the risks, she said.
“We’re keeping an eye on (Centers for Disease Control) guidelines to make sure the kids are safe,” Woodrum said. “The group size is within the guidelines. Indian Creek is a smaller school. We will have sanitation at the barn and Urban Air assured us the venue will be well-cleaned and maintained.”
