Touching Moment Local Police Officers Escort Group of Special Needs Teens to Prom
This is a crucial time of year for high school students, because it is the season of prom. There are so many choices to make and plenty of traditions to honor.
Who will you go with? What will they wear? What will you wear? What colors will you choose? Who else will you go with? Where will you go after?
It’s the last big event — other than graduation — before you enter the world of adulthood. The next big milestone is hitting 21, and there’s really not much to celebrate after that unless you get married, have a kid, or hit 50.
But for some students, prom is a time of sadness or loneliness. Not everyone is always able to attend these events.
Fortunately, there are caring people out there keeping an eye out for situations like these who are willing to step up and be the change they want to see.
It was a teacher and a retired cop who recognized the need in their own community. They knew there were a lot of kids with special needs who may not be able to attend their own proms if someone didn’t make it happen.
The retired cop, Scott Harris, worked together with his wife and other cops to make sure that this group at a school in Boynton Beach, Florida, wasn’t left out.
“We came up with this idea of having these students come to the prom since they wouldn’t have the opportunity if we didn’t take the chance and bring them here,” he said. “My wife is a teacher at John I. Leonard and teaches these students.”
It’s not every day that you get the opportunity to have a police officer as your prom date, and many of the high schoolers jumped at the opportunity.
The officers showed up before the prom to meet their dates. And, of course, they came equipped with corsages and boutonnieres like any self-respecting prom date would.
And boy, did they dance! The floor was packed, but the students with special needs and their dates took center stage.
Super sweet! Nicely done @BBPD officers! ? @WPTV https://t.co/RoSTe3kPMx
— Ashleigh Walters (@AshleighWalters) May 7, 2018
Other teachers at the school have seen and been thankful for the cops stepping up and getting involved in the lives of these young people.
“Just to have the kids doing something that they normally wouldn’t do with the disabled kids, they wouldn’t be able to be here if it wasn’t for Boynton,” said Sandi Harris, a teacher at the school. “
They are having a ball. They are laughing. They’re dancing. They are totally out of their environment and having a great time.”
“It’s amazing to see these young kids that don’t have the opportunity to be here today,” said Harris.
“They are awesome kids and now they are mingling with the other kids, doing the same thing that kids that don’t have disabilities are doing.”
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