Parents Respond To End Of Halloween Parties At Evanston Schools

EVANSTON, IL — With several more local public schools doing away with Halloween celebrations this year, citing Evanston/Skokie School District 65's commitment to equity, some Evanston parents tell the Chicago Tribune they are concerned administrators' push for more inclusive environment will end up excluding students.

But in response, other District 65 parents expressed strong support for the move away from a school day featuring costumed celebrations, which can present problems for families with fewer means to devote to Halloween costumes, students with sensory sensitivities like autism spectrum disorder and those who do not wish to take part for religious reasons.

Lincoln Elementary School administrators notified parents last year that it would be the school's final Halloween party, school officials told the Tribune. Instead, the school will hold a fall celebration on Nov. 1.

"While we recognize that Halloween is a fun tradition for many families, it is not a holiday that is celebrated by all members of our school community and for various reasons," Principal Michelle Cooney said in statement to the paper. "There are also inequities in how we have traditionally observed the holiday as part of our school day. Our goal at Lincoln is to provide space and opportunities for all students to be part of the community — not to create an environment that may feel exclusive or unwelcoming to any child."

One mother of student at Lincoln and critic of the change told the paper she felt that the district was excluding students whose families work long hours and those with differing cultural backgrounds. While growing up in Chicago in a first-generation immigrant family of Muslim refugees, Nejra Bajric told the Tribune, Halloween was the only holiday she got to celebrate. With her parents working long past trick-or-treating hours, the Halloween celebrations at school offered one of her only opportunities to take part in the "cultural American holiday." Bajric blamed religious groups for the cancellation.

Another Lincoln parent, Mark Gruber, told the paper he did not think equity was a good reason to stop marking the holiday at school. If a student has a problem with how the holiday is being celebrated, "we want to try to include that kid and come with solutions." But, Gruber said, it was "hard to take" for school officials to demand a change to behavior and traditions to accommodate the views of a few.

Catherine Merrit, a parent of a Willard Elementary School student, disagreed. She told Patch it was important for the district to ensure events that may be fun experiences for some students are not especially painful ones for others. Merritt said her kids may be upset they can't wear costumes on Halloween but it did not upset or worry her at all.

"If anything it gives me, as a mother, the chance to explain to them why and to continue my ongoing work of raising empathetic, socially conscious and not-self-centered kids," she said. "They will be fine and if we as parents can't lean into them being being fine then we need to do some reflecting and work on our own empathy and social consciousness."

There is no district-wide Halloween party policy and the board has not discussed the matter, district spokesperson Melissa Messinger said, but principals of multiple schools across the district have decided to cease marking Halloween during school.

"The shift from traditional Halloween celebrations during the school day is not a new practice in our district. This has been a gradual change across our schools over a number of years," Messinger said. She provided a statement on behalf of senior district administrators echoing Cooney's response.

"[W]e support our schools that are moving away from Halloween celebrations that include costumes and similar traditions. We are confident those who are choosing to move away from traditional Halloween celebrations will find new and engaging ways to build community within their schools," it said. "In District 65, we remain committed to equity and discontinuing current and past practices that are not in alignment with our goals. Our schools are special because of the people who are a part of them. Everyone, regardless of race, ethnicity, ability level, religion, spoken language, cultural beliefs and traditions, gender identity, sexual orientation, and citizenship status, should feel comfortable being their authentic selves while in our schools."

Jen Kiefer, a parent at King Arts, said most families who choose to celebrate Halloween can still do so outside of school and it should not be forced on those who do not.

"I personally love celebrating Halloween at school. I have great memories of making my costume and showing it off, and even winning an award for the most creative costume when I was in middle school," but she said she still supported administrators' decision. "It's not okay to keep it if it fuels inequity."

Read more from the Evanston Review

Patch sent written questions to principals at each of the 16 schools in District 65 about their individual school's Halloween-related policies. Any responses provided with be added above.