Homecoming Dance 2010 Wrap-Up

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In an effort to tamp down some lingering questions posted in the comments section made in the very popular post Homecoming Dance Comes to Grind, I called the school for specific answers.

Dr. John Kronour, Tipp City School Superintendent responded to my call and provided the content for the following answers.

Q. How Many Students Attended the Homecoming Dance?

A. 693. Each student received a wristband in exchange for the ($8) admission fee. The wristbands were sold before the day of the dance, so it is possible for someone to give the wristband (and access to the dance) to someone else. There is no check-in procedure due to the number of students all arriving at the same time, however we may look at this in the future. When I arrived at the dance, there were still between 100-200 students there dancing and having a good time.

Q. Was marijuana found in the boys restroom?

A. Nothing that was brought to my attention, and I am confident that if something was reported to a teacher or principal, I would know about it. There was blood found on the floor of the girls bathroom. Many of the female students take their shoes off when they get there, and one reported to have received a cut from one of the homecoming props.

Q. Was there a communication that went out to parents regarding “inappropriate dancing” prior to the homecoming dance?

A. No. Principal Chuck Wray communicated to students on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday over the announcements that any inappropriate types of dancing will not be tolerated, and that you can be removed from the dance if found doing so. Also, as reported in today’s communication from the school district, Principal Wray shut the music off at the beginning of the dance, to reiterate to all students that any students engaging in inappropriate dancing will be removed. We will look at many things, including parental communication as a way to deal with this activity in the future.

Q. Are you sure that students knew what dance moves were considered “inappropriate”?

A. Yes, from the detailed descriptions provided by Chuck and Brian (Wray/Honeycutt), the students absolutely would have known that their behavior was inappropriate, many of them were also provided with warnings. We all (teachers, administrators) want the students to have a fun and safe time at the homecoming dance. No one wanted the majority of the students to voluntarily leave the dance.

Q. That brings me to the DJ. Is this the same DJ as in prior years?

A. Yes, school administration and student senate were involved in the planning with the DJ.

Q. Did you review the song lists? Were song selections censored?

A. Student senate reviewed a list, and maybe we need to do a better job of that. Principal Wray did request that the DJ “mix it up” (play both Rap and non-Rap songs).

Editor Note: Radio edits were used of the popular Rap songs, however just like the song “Mony, Mony”.. everyone knows the unspoken lyrics

Q. Was there any thought to student safety who were thought (by parents) to be attending a supervised school event until 11PM, who were either ejected or voluntarily left at 9PM?

A. When I was Principal of Oakwood’s Jr. High School (a district that is significantly smaller than Tipp City) it was easy to call parents of students who were released from a school function, however this was impossible for the 40 students who were released for inappropriate dancing on Saturday. Additionally, there was no way for Principal Wray to contact the parents of those that left the dance voluntarily, as no list of dance attendees is kept. We did speak about this problem at our morning meeting and will have to look at how to handle this in the future.

Q. Some schools have policies for dances regarding attire, attendance and dance styles. Will you consider this?

A. We will be looking at recommendations being made by parents but mostly from students. The student senate can help us to identify ways to encourage responsible, respectful dance behavior that can be embraced by the student body.

Q. Principal Wray mentioned parents being chaperones at dances. Do you support this?

A. Yes, students are less likely to misbehave if they know that a parent that knows them may tell their mom or dad about their inappropriate actions. Or even worse, confront them about it in front of their friends.

Q. We (TippNews DAILY) have received several (8) concerned calls from parents and hundreds of posts from both students and parents.

A. I have not received one call today from a parent (but I do have one parent to call back) regarding the incidents surrounding homecoming. I have received several emails, all in support of the actions made by Principal Wray.

Thank you Dr. Kronour for your time and for helping clarify the events that occurred on Saturday night. It was clear from our discussion that the Administration is certainly concerned about the events from Saturday night and that it is going to rely heavily on students to not only control themselves at future events, but also make changes to the events that allow them to remain entertaining while still following the standards of decorum as defined in the school handbook.

Editor’s Note: Corrected Dr. Kronour’s position while at Oakwood