The Reason This School Canceled Halloween Has Parents Outraged

When the principal of Mitchell Elementary School announced that he would be canceling Halloween this year, the response to his actions was not all positive. In fact, many parents of the school could not believe that such a festivity could even be canceled, with the story making public news.

The controversial decision shocked many of the pupils at the school in Needham, Massachusetts, but the principal was adamant that his decision was made for all the right reasons in mind.

The festive period begins every year once the leaves have begun to fall, the ground is covered in all things green, red and orange, and the pumpkins are ready to be carved and given center stage. Halloween marks the run-up to Christmas and is a holiday in itself to be celebrated. Although not a religious holiday, many are keen to acknowledge Halloween with their costumes and candy galore. If anything, it is the one day of the year where sweet treats are glorified.

With the holiday soon approaching, this is usually a time where children are figuring out what they want to dress up as and what costume is best. With the festivities that surround the holiday, the streets and shops prepare themselves with decorations and essential Halloween products to fill the demand for people of all ages. In fact, you cannot miss the time Halloween is arriving, and everyone starts getting into the festive spirit. October 31st is a date to look forward to every year.

So when Principal Gregory Bayse decided that he was going to “cancel” Halloween this year, the shocking surprise left many against his sudden idea. The holiday tradition has been marked over the years at Mitchell Elementary School, and each year, the children get to celebrate the day at school. The children would get to show off their fun costumes, and games and competitions were held with the Halloween spirit in mind. This year, the decision was that Halloween would be like any other normal day.

While Halloween may not mark any specific religious beliefs, there were some parents, amongst those who allowed their children to celebrate it, that actually disagreed with it. That in itself divided people, but with the decision was put in place by the principal for 2017, parents and children that attended the school were divided once again as to whether the choice made to cancel Halloween was a good or bad one. It didn’t end there either, since the story created a media storm…

This was, unfortunately, no trick, nor treat, to receive in the post and the principal made his views very clear. While the celebrations could not be inclusive of all children at the elementary school, it would not be the right decision to progress with the festivities. However, as a yearly tradition, this decision was not going to be taken lightly, and even the media wanted to attract their attention to the changes being made and hear the reactions towards it.

The truth behind Halloween being canceled at Mitchell Elementary School was reported by the ABC-affiliated local TV station, WCVB-TV 5, after a reporter decided to head down to the school for the story. Knowing that the news had not gone down the same with everyone, she asked some parents and grandparents at the school for their thoughts on the decision that Halloween should be canceled. Of course, their answers were varied, and each gave their own view of the situation.

With Halloween being a traditional holiday, many of the parents and grandparents thought it was a sad change for children at the school. One grandmother, Patsy Leibensperger, told WCVB-TV 5 News that “It makes me a little bit sad,” since she remembered how much she loved celebrating Halloween at school. Feeling sad for the children at Mitchell Elementary, she was not the only one, and parents expressed that Halloween was always a time for kids to just be kids, so why take it away from them?

One of the pupil’s fathers, Jon Cohan, agreed with Patsy and discussed how Halloween is just a time where kids can enjoy themselves in a slightly different way to the rest of the year. He answered the reporter’s questions on the matter by stating, “It’s fun! I can’t see why people want to preclude kids from having fun and enjoying something that’s more cultural. There’s no real religious significance to anything about Halloween. It’s just a thing where kids get candy.”

The news was then expressed further via social media, and on Facebook, it drew in an even greater crowd of opinions on the matter in the school. In fact, the principal’s decision attracted even harsher criticism, and people were confident in commenting alongside the post as to what they thought. The controversial decision of canceling Halloween continued to anger and shock people online for what they considered an unnecessary move and unfair act towards the children that attend the elementary school.

On the matter of celebrating Halloween in school, a pupil’s father told the reporter, “I don’t feel it’s really related to overall learning.” He continued, “It’s important for kids to have fun but it is a choice, per family. We definitely like to celebrate with our kids.” Even a school pupil who celebrated Halloween said it would be OK to not wear a costume to school this year, and responded to the reporter when asked where she would dress up with, “At home.”

Another school, Boydon Elementary School, decided to hold a “Black and Orange” Spirit Day after canceling Halloween. Mitchell Elementary also discussed how they would be holding an alternative day for Halloween, in which all children will be able to participate. Parents and social media alike may have disagreed with the original decision, but during the time of Halloween, both schools will have their own twists to an annual tradition, and this decision may continue to be followed by other schools.

The school will mark their own celebrations on November 9, 2017, where the school will hold their own day called “William Mitchell Day.” Not so similar to Boydon Elementary, this unique celebration, and the first of its kind at the Mitchell Elementary is when teachers and pupils will be encouraged to spend this day celebrating the heritage of the school, as well as “all things autumn.” But the drastic changes still beg the question: why not just celebrate Halloween?

The decision to keep some children away from school put many teachers in a compromising position. They felt awkward about planning the celebrations while knowing some of the kids won’t be able to enjoy them. Seeing the separation caused amongst the pupils in the school for the upcoming Halloween date is what led Bayse to act and change the yearly tradition. This was when he chose to inform parents of his changes and when the controversy began.

The decision came about after some of the pupil’s parents from the school did not agree with their child celebrating Halloween. As a result, they would hold their kids back from school to prevent them from getting involved with any of the festivities, and ensure they did not join the other children celebrating. So, while planning and organizing the day’s events took place in the lead up to the date, many children would watch on but know they would have no participation.

Regardless of the numerous opinions on the matter, and the large backlash the decision faced, the principal’s decision from Mitchell Elementary is final. The school will not be celebrating Halloween this year, and the day in school will be just like any other. However, after canceling the traditional day of celebrations, the school have chosen to make up for this in another way. Rather, they will start their own school tradition and festive day in the week following Halloween, with no spiritual meaning behind it.

Principal, Gregory Bayse, felt that sending a letter would suffice as the best way to inform the parents of his pupils’ that the elementary school will no longer be celebrating Halloween. However, the letter, which threw in the surprising bombshell, was never expected by the parents and many recipients formed a backlash having heavily disagreed with his decision. Bayse was most likely expecting a reaction to his decision, so he made sure to explain fully why it had come to fruition.

While parents expressed their anguish towards the decision made, Bayse knew that many kids would also be saddened by the news that their school would be missing out on the much loved Halloween celebrations. He reiterated in his letter how important it is to make sure that all children in the school feel included, and since it had got to a point where many were missing out on the activities others were enjoying, it was not right for the school to progress with this celebration.

He expressed in his letter, “I would agree that this represents a change, but I believe that in the long-term any change towards including all children is a positive change that will benefit our students and our community.” Of course, the decision made by the principal would hope to have the best interests of the pupils’ at the school at heart, but sadly many could not comprehend how this decision was made for the benefit of the children at the school.

Amongst the frustrated comments, was one Facebook user who wrote, “I don’t see what the big deal is. If Halloween offends you then don’t participate. Problem solved! Let kids be kids!” While another user, Janice Spooner, discussed the problems of living in an oversensitive modern society and expressed, “There is nothing wrong with Halloween events, we have an event every year and those who don’t celebrate are offered an alternative activity. What’s wrong is everyone’s feelings getting hurt every time someone else sneezes.”

While the online commentary on the subject consisted mostly of disdain towards the decision, some parents of Mitchell Elementary were slightly more forgiving. One mom told WCVB-TV 5 News, “Our kids will probably miss it a little bit, but I totally get the reason why they did. To exclude anyone is not a good thing.” There is also the argument that Halloween can be celebrated during the evening hours, and one father made his opinion clear that school was not the place for the festivities.

It seems that parents at the school are not the only ones who agree with Mitchell Elementary’s decision to cancel Halloween. In fact, another school in Massachusetts has followed suit with the school’s controversial decision. Boyden Elementary School in Walpole holds an annual Halloween costume parade. They have seen that the parade is not inclusive of all children and will therefore not be continuing with their annual tradition. Similarly to Mitchell Elementary, the principal sent out a letter to notify parents and pupils of the new changes.

In his letter, the principal stated that Halloween would not be celebrated at the school this year and “Also, the parade is not inclusive of all the students and it is our goal each and every day to ensure all student’s individual differences are respected.” Rather, the school will hold a “Black and Orange” Spirit Day instead of Halloween, meaning children can come to school dressed in those colors, but not in costumes. The celebration of Halloween, however, will be celebrated at another date.

The pupils’ at Boyden Elementary School have been informed that Halloween will be celebrated on October 20, and it is not mandatory for children to participate, but will be held at after school hours and costumes are allowed. However, with the yearly tradition being changed to another date and not on the festive October 31, it caused outrage amongst parents. Some stated that it was ‘political correctness run amok’ since none of the pupils’ specific religions were stated as the reason behind the decision.

The reactions from the announcement made by Boydon Elementary School highlighted how the interests of children were being compromised for political correctness. One man from Walpole exclaimed, “Put a costume on. Parade down the street. Let them have their little time. Why do you have to turn it into something political?” While another woman agreed, “I think it’s a lot of political correctness, I think it’s a shame because Halloween is the funnest day of the year next to Christmas for children.”