KATY MAGAZINE NEWS
May 21, 2020
By Jennifer Miko
Yesterday, Katy ISD announced that this year’s high school proms were cancelled. The shockwaves rippled through social media as parents of seniors shared their disappointment. On The Katy Train Facebook page, Katy High School parents quickly took action and found a location to hold a prom for their graduates.
UPDATE: Taylor High School and Tompkins High School will also have their senior parties at Wildcatter Saloon. These parties are not affiliated with Katy ISD or the respective schools; each event is organized by students' families.
In response to COVID-19 social distancing restrictions, Katy ISD initially rescheduled this year's proms. They made efforts to save the 2020 senior celebrations by relocating all of the high school proms to the Merrell Center. The dates were postponed, yet always contingent on directives from Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas Education Agency.
Yesterday, the District posted this update to their website:
*NEW-UPDATED* Proms
This past Monday the Governor and the Texas Education Agency (TEA) issued updated guidelines pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing. Based on those guidelines, large indoor assemblies and gatherings will not be permissible during the month of June. Thus, we regret to inform that all senior proms have been canceled.
Katy High School Parents Respond
“Our students were supposed to graduate yesterday but they couldn’t, and the same day they found out prom was cancelled,” says Cecilia Majewski-Crutcher, mom of a Katy High School (KHS) senior.
Majewski-Crutcher remembered how earlier this month a local business offered their facilities to hold high school proms. Last night, she and another KHS mom visited the Wildcatter Saloon in Katy to follow up on their offer. After working through details, they reserved the venue for the KHS “Tiger Prom.”
On Tuesday, June 9, from 8 p.m. to midnight, KHS seniors will finally have their prom. The bars on site at Wildcatter Saloon will be closed that night, and all attendees will need to submit a parent-signed waiver to participate.
“The entire event is outside on several acres with plenty of room for social distancing,” says Kristin Sarlls, another senior parent helping to coordinate Tiger Prom. “The facility is being rented out solely to us, we will have off duty police officers along with parent chaperones.”
“These kids have been through enough, so we as the parents want to do the best thing for them,” says Majewski-Crutcher. “It’s truly up to each family if they allow the students to go. I would do anything to give our kids a little normalcy for just a night.”
Sarlls says the coordinators will be posting a link on social media for seniors to purchase Tiger Prom tickets ($15 per student).
More Katy Schools To Have Proms At Wildcatter
Taylor High School and Tompkins High Schools will also have senior parties held at Wildcatter Saloon.
"I woke up one morning kinda depressed about the lockdown and saw these poor kids had it tougher than me," says Justin Whitfield, owner of Wildcatter Saloon. "I then realized I had the ability to make a difference."
Justin made one post on social media about hosting proms and he said it went crazy from there.
For more information about your high school's prom, contact your school.