The San Marino Unified School District will once again be hosting the West San Gabriel Valley Special Education Local Plan Area Prom this year.
The 2016 SELPA Junior/Senior Prom will be held on Thursday, May 19 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the small gym at San Marino High School with a theme of ‘Candy Land.’
A William G. “Bill” Steele, Jr. Mini-Grant Program for Classroom Innovation from the Rotary Club of San Marino provided funding for the program. SMUSD Special Education Program Specialist Jenifer Lozano and Special Education teachers Cathy Santillana and Kara Huang applied for the grant.
High school juniors and seniors in special education programs from the 14 school districts that the West San Gabriel Valley SELPA serves, including SMUSD, are invited to attend the SELPA Prom in addition to their school’s prom.
“This SELPA Prom is offered as an additional opportunity to attend prom,” West San Gabriel Valley SELPA Director Jacqueline Williams said. “They are still welcome to attend their local prom.”
“We really appreciate the Rotary Club and we’re thankful for their support,” West San Gabriel Valley SELPA Program Specialist Mindy Arnold said.
SMUSD has offered continued support for the program, Williams said.
“The superintendent [SMUSD’S Dr. Alex Cherniss] is just a wonderful advocate for SELPA to do these types of programs,” she said. “He invited us back and said we were always welcome to hold these events there.”
The theme of this year’s and last year’s SELPA prom has a connection to San Marino High School. ‘Candy Land’ was chosen because the high school, through Grad Night and/or past Drama Department productions, had many candy-themed props.
“Last year, it was ‘King Arthur’ because there were a lot of knights and castles,” Williams said. “The theme is dependent on what San Marino did in previous years.”
The prom will feature a disc jockey, photo booth and refreshments. There will be arts and crafts for those attendees who are not interested in dancing.
The corsages and boutonnieres this year will be decorated with candy.
Williams came up with the idea of having a SELPA prom and SMHS hosted the first one last year.
“It was a great day,” she said. “What an amazing opportunity for us who work in special education and parents to go and see the happiness and the absolute fun that the students had. It made my year. It did more for me to see the children having fun and have access to such a wonderful event. It was just an amazing experience for me.”
Williams noted that last year’s SELPA Prom was attended by a representative from almost all of the districts that the West San Gabriel Valley SELPA serves.
The West San Gabriel Valley SELPA is a consortium of regional school districts and county school offices that provides academic programs and services for special needs students as well as training for parents and educators.
While it does have enough volunteers for the prom, it is always in need of donations to ensure this event continues throughout the years. For more information, visit www.wsgvselpa.org or call (626) 943-3435.
