DC region high school seniors worry about possible prom and graduation cancellation amid coronavirus outbreak

Students concerned graduation, prom won’t happen

Prom and graduation season is almost here for high school seniors all across the DC region but with the spread of the coronavirus, many of those students are wondering if both events will happen.

ASHBURN, Va. (FOX 5 DC) - Prom and graduation season is almost here for high school students across the D.C. region, but with schools closed during the coronavirus crisis, many of them are wondering if these major milestones will even happen.

Memories from last year’s prom at Broad Run High School is something Sofie Sharif and her senior classmates were looking forward to making some more of in 2020.

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“We’ve been prom shopping for months and nobody wants to miss that you know?” said Sharif.

But chances are that they might miss it.

With several school districts across the DMV, including Loudoun County Public Schools being closed until at least mid-April, and maybe longer, some students are worried that they might not get to take part in such a major milestone.

“I even have my dress,” said Fiona Chang, a junior and planning member of the school’s prom committee. “I’ve had it since December and to know that we might not even get a prom, it’s really heartbreaking.”

There is also the concern about graduation. In a time when seniors are supposed to be taking in the last few months of their glory days, these students are preparing for what could be an unusual ending to their high school years.

“I have been looking forward to that for so long,” said senior Sarah Abbadi. “Like in all of my four years, seeing everybody graduate and seeing them on senior night and having the perfect prom.”

Sharif said that while she and a majority of her classmates are sad at the possibility of having no prom or a graduation ceremony —it’s better to be just safe.

“I would miss graduation and miss prom if that means one person could avoid having this illness or not be hurt by this virus,” she said.

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FOX 5 reached out to several school districts, including Loudoun and Fairfax Counties Public Schools, for a response and we were told that, right now, they are not able to provide any definitive answers.

Officials with Montgomery County Schools said that as of now, graduations and proms are proceeding as scheduled but that students should prepare for the likelihood that events like prom, which usually start in April, will be canceled.