It may or may not involve small gatherings of students decked out in tuxes or prom dresses. It may or may not be held virtually.
But Education Minister Brad Trivers says schools will be holding graduation events for P.E.I.’s class of 2020. And there will, he says, be a prom. It will be up to students to decide what this means.
"It may not look exactly like what a prom has looked like in the past. But it will be a prom," Trivers said.
Trivers announced on Thursday afternoon that representatives from the Public Schools Branch and the commission scolaire de langue française will be reaching out to students to determine how they would like to mark their graduating year. End-of-year events are also planned for all students during the week of June 22.
When asked Thursday whether a prom could be held for graduating students during the coronavirus pandemic, Trivers said the event would not be like proms held in past years.
“We're going to do it in a way that brings closure to the school-year, allows the graduates to have that experience and really lets them say 'we are the class of 2020 and we have our prom and we were able to celebrate the way we intended to,'" Trivers said.
In a phone interview on Friday, Trivers said safety was top of mind for education officials. He also suggested a prom or graduating event could be held later in the summer.
"Our priority is, of course, following the CPHO recommendations, the CPHO guidelines and protocols,” Trivers said.
"We don't even know what they're going to be like in July or August if we have to go out that far."
P.E.I.’s plan to phase back physical distancing would allow, as of June 12, indoor gatherings of up to 15 and outdoor gatherings of no more than 20. At present the plans say that these gatherings would have to abide by physical distancing, meaning students can be no closer to one another than two metres. There is no clear indication yet of whether these public health restrictions will be eased during the summer or, if so, when they might be eased.
The Cambridge dictionary defines a prom as “a formal party held for older students at the end of the school year, at which there is dancing.”
When asked if this year’s event for graduating students could be called a prom, Trivers said it could.
"I would say, you can do formal gatherings. I don't know if proms always have to have a dance piece but they normally do," Trivers said.
"Maybe what you do is you have proms that consist of multiple gatherings of 15 people in different buildings, which still gives a prom experience."
Trivers said the decision will be up to students.
"I think it can be that end-of-year dance that gives the experience the students want in terms of closure to the school year, closure to their class from a social perspective with music and dancing and possibly food. And it can adhere to the CPHO guidelines," Trivers said.
