Prom season is back for Johnston County schools, but there will be a pandemic twist
Johnston County high school students will be allowed to have a prom this year — as long as it’s outdoor and meets COVID-19 safety rules.
High school proms across the nation were canceled last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Johnston County school system announced Friday that proms will be permitted this year if they follow guidance from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s executive orders.
Rules include:
▪ Proms must be held in an outside area (parking lot or other outside venue)
▪ All attendees must abide by CDC guidelines and safety protocols, including wearing masks, following social distancing, utilizing hand sanitizing stations.
▪ Each prom will accommodate 100 students per time slot or per outside venue. This does not include staff and event personnel.
▪ Seniors will be the only students who are permitted to attend prom unless they’re the senior’s one guest.
▪ Based on Cooper’s current executive order, proms must end by 10 p.m.
Each Johnston County high school will provide details to their students.
In neighboring Wake County, the district hasn’t yet provided guidance to high schools about proms this year, according to Lisa Luten, a district spokeswoman. She said that current state rules mean that large indoor proms are not permitted.
Cooper’s current statewide modified stay-at-home order is set to expire Feb. 28. It includes a curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. and restrictions on gathering size and business capacities. There is also a statewide mask mandate.
Cooper said he will announce next week what changes may be made to the executive order.
Graduation dates announced
Also on Friday, Johnston County announced the dates for high school graduation ceremonies. Due to Cooper’s current executive order, schools will have an outdoor drive-through graduation or an indoor graduation where each student has a scheduled window of time to come on campus.
It’s similar to how commencement ceremonies were held last year.
School district officials say the format of this year’s graduations may change, depending on any new executive orders, but not the scheduled dates.
▪ Clayton High School: drive-through June 1-2
▪ Cleveland High School: drive-through June 1-2
▪ Corinth-Holders High School: drive-through June 1-2
▪ Johnston County Career and Technical Leadership Academy: drive-through May 15
▪ Johnston County Early College Academy: drive-through May 14
▪ North Johnston High School: drive-through June 1-2
▪ Princeton High School: drive-through June 1-2
▪ Smithfield-Selma High School: drive-through June 1-2
▪ South Johnston High School: drive-through June 1-2
▪ West Johnston High School: drive-through June 1-2
This story was originally published February 19, 2021 at 6:21 PM with the headline "Prom season is back for Johnston County schools, but there will be a pandemic twist."
