‘Boo’ to a Seattle school’s Halloween costume ban
Oct 16, 2012, 4:50 PM | Updated: 6:07 pm
Students at a public elementary in West Seattle will have to get their Halloween thrills and chills after the school day is over. Lafayette Elementary School is banning costumes this year.
Halloween school controversies rise up every year like a rickety skeleton lawn decoration.
The Seattle School district doesn’t have a policy on costumes, and instead it leaves the decision about whether to allow them up to each building.
Our local elementary school doesn’t allow costumes, but the middle school is fine with it and by high school anything goes.
One Lafayette mom, who didn’t want me to use her name, says their close-knit school community has always enjoyed Halloween and it’s a “special treat” for the kids to wear costumes to school during the day.
One kid’s treat is another kid’s distraction. The school staff had a big discussion about the issue and decided to ban costumes this year.
“It’s another case of kids not being able to be kids,” says Carl, who has two kids in the school.
Principal Shauna Heath told the West Seattle Blog in a statement they are not allowing costumes “so that we can focus on academics during the limited time we have available. The staff has committed to continuing the conversation throughout the year before deciding on what we will do in the future about Halloween celebrations.”
Halloween falls on a Wednesday this year, and for Seattle Schools there is a two-hour early dismissal for students, while teachers have a half-day of professional development time.
By LINDA THOMAS, Would I be the un-cool mom if I pushed for a costume ban at my daughter’s high school? Skimpy scares me