When Mayor Lori Lightfoot calls out the name of your high school during a coronavirus press conference, you may think it’s a bad thing. But on Friday, May 22, it was all good.
That’s what happened for seniors of Muchin College Prep, a public charter school part of the Noble charter school network, located in the Loop. Muchin staff and seniors registered 243 out of 247 students to vote as part of the 2020 Prom Challenge created in partnership between MTV and When We All Vote, Michelle Obama’s nonpartisan organization. Their almost perfect voter registration number won them a chance to partake in MTV’s Prom-athon, a virtual prom with celebrities like Chloe x Halle will perform, Fat Joe and Janelle Monáe are slated to make special appearances and DJ Khaled is the night’s “Prom Boss.”
Muchin is one of 20 high schools across the country selected to participate in the festivities that take place online Friday evening, including Calumet City’s Thornton Fractional North High School, according to the list of winners. Seniors got a link to attend the event and the school received $5,000 for its civic endeavor.
“We could not believe it,” said 10th grade teacher and incoming dean of students Evie Deavila. “It’s incredible to get recognized for doing incredible things. Muchin feels appreciative for the recognition. 1,600 schools applied … and we’re a small school compared to other high schools (we only have about 1,000 kids), so we were extremely humbled to even be considered a finalist. The idea that the mayor mentioned us today, was the coolest thing ever.”
Obama spoke to some Muchin seniors and staff last week to inform them of their win via Zoom.
The 20 schools will be highlighted when MTV’s Prom-athon kicks off tonight, featuring short-form original content from the winners. Afterward, MTV’s YouTube will host the virtual prom party.
Muchin’s June 5 prom was canceled due to the pandemic. According to Deavila, the school is doing everything it can to make their seniors feel special with a spirit week specifically for seniors where every senior’s college decision will be posted on social media. And a virtual dance with DJ May 29. The $5,000 will be used to send care packages to each senior — packages that include things like lawn signs, T-shirts, caps and gowns. Gift cards are also being considered, she said.
“We’re just over the moon,” Deavila said. “I’m sure you understand, losing your senior year of high school, you look forward to these events for so long — their class trip was canceled, their prom, their graduation, so having this as a memory for them will just be incredible.They’re excited that just registering to vote really got them this ticket.”
Virtual proms are virtually everywhere since coronavirus has upended many senior plans. Senior classes from Nicolas Senn High School and Glenbrook North High School were invited to join the AXE x Teen Vogue Virtual Prom on May 16. The Zoom event included TikTok creator Rickey Thompson, DJ sets, curated playlists, interactive choreography, and custom thematic backdrops. Chipotle Mexican Grill threw a @ChipotleAfterParty. And artists like singer Maylyn wrote a song called “Prom Night” that featured an Illinois senior from Plainfield.
Coronavirus closed down the state and schools before senior activities really started, so many students held out hope that the pandemic would merely delay planned festivities. Now, two months indoors with restrictions still in place, school administrations are trying to juggle best case scenarios for students and parents for proms and graduations, online platforms keep providing venues where virtual dances can be had, and some youth are taking the reins of what their IRL senior moments will look like once stay at home rules are loosened. Here’s what some area schools are doing:
Oak Forest High School’s graduation is slated for July 14, but still pending updated guidance from Gov. J.B. Prtizker regarding public events. The city scheduled a parade of graduates at 6 p.m. May 19. Prom is tentatively scheduled for July 10.
Hinsdale Central High School held a virtual commencement on May 21, but there is also a possibility of a second ceremony in the summer. As for prom, details are not finalized but according to Sally Phillip, the school’s director of student activities, a summer event that would include a social, a graduation stage to walk across for pictures and an opportunity for signing yearbooks, among other things.
School District U-46 (which includes Elgin, South Elgin, Bartlett, Streamwood and Larkin high schools) reversed course on its commencement ceremonies for the class of 2020, canceling the July 11 in-person event at the Sears Centre in favor of a virtual graduation June 13. The change has some parents asking for something better. Jean Driscoll, aunt to a Streamwood High School senior, started a petition for a more personal graduation ceremony after reading a text from her niece that said “Graduation is a virtual ceremony June 13th. Graduation attire: my pjs ??.” “That just broke my heart,” Driscoll wrote in an email. And as far as proms being rescheduled, Mary Fergus, School District U-46’s director of School & Community Relations said there’s no news on that, even though “a couple of our schools have had ‘Prom on the Lawn’ events,” where kids got dressed up.
Kenwood Academy High School recently sent out a Senior Town Hall note asking seniors if they were interested in a virtual prom. The school’s graduation will happen virtually via Zoom at 6 p.m. June 8.
The Latin School of Chicago has been Maddie Koo’s place of learning for the past 14 years. Before coronavirus, the senior was looking forward to school traditions like “Decision Day,” where on May 1, students show up to campus wearing the college apparel of the institution of higher learning they chose to attend in the fall. Or signing her name on the walls of the senior stairway.
“You walk down those staircases and you see everyone’s name from the past — it’s a cool tradition that we have,” she said. According to the Bucktown resident, the school’s administration is trying to figure out if seniors would be able to go inside the school, maybe one by one after a virtual graduation, to make that happen.
According to Koo, a group senior picture is traditionally taken outside before school starts — a show of camaraderie to recognize seniors’ accomplishments. Pictures with parents and friends follow.
“I’ve been at Latin since I was like 4 years old. So to never get closure with this school and just seeing all the grades that went to graduation in the past, and waiting for that and for senior prom and all of that — like May 1 especially — there are just some huge traditions that I’ll never get to have as a senior,” Koo said. “I do know that Latin is trying its best to do all they can to keep our spirits up … which is much appreciated. But there’s nothing that can really make up for this situation for all seniors.”
Koo, 17, said that although prom was canceled for the Latin School of Chicago, virtual dances have taken place on Zoom through the school. But nothing can replace prom, she said. A spring formal for seniors has been proposed for Aug. 4; a virtual graduation is slated for June 4, and an in-person graduation is tentatively set for Aug. 8, Koo added.
“My parents have had their high school experiences and so have all my teachers, so it’s sort of like no one understands our position because they’ve already had it,” Koo said. “My younger siblings will probably be able to have that in the future, so it’s kind of like all seniors are in a bubble because we’re getting pity from other people but they don’t exactly know how it feels.”
Caellin Flaherty, a senior at Lincoln-Way East High School in Frankfort, knows how it feels. He said while many schools in the area have postponed their proms, Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210 has canceled it completely, leaving the senior class devastated. So he and four of his peers started planning a private prom for July 8 at Bolingbrook Golf Club. The teens started a GoFundMe campaign to see it to fruition. So far, they have $9,260 of their $20,000 goal raised to help with the cost of hiring a DJ, buying decorations and private security. Ticket sales are set to begin June 1. The prom’s theme: Roaring ’20s.
“We wanted to give our seniors a correct send-off,” Flaherty said. “A lot of people want closure with an in-real-life prom. A virtual prom just isn’t the same.”
Seniors and parents, send your prom photos to drockett@chicagotribune.com. We will feature them in our Senior Week coverage.
