Texas High School Students Put New Twist on Senior Prom

On May 1, 2004, students from Lufkin (Texas) High School transformed an elementary school cafeteria into a Savoy-style jazz club for their first Senior Citizens' Prom. Seniors, children, and adult and youth volunteers danced the evening away to the big band music of the Tom Houston Orchestra, indulged in food and drink, and posed for photographs. More than $1,550 worth of donated door prizes and gifts were given away, and a prom king and queen were chosen.

Fifteen high school-aged special education students were the driving force behind this service-learning project. The young people were part of the YouthWorks! program of Goodwill Industries of Central East Texas, which teaches vocational skills, including how to develop and follow schedules, work in teams, develop project goals, deal with conflict, and speak in professional settings.

All of the students came from low-income families, says Program Director Erica Richey. "A lot of [them] are alienated from the community. When they get out of high school, they're so detached that they can't talk to people."

These students decided to address the needs of the area's elderly community. When the group came up with the idea for a prom, they started a process of interviewing seniors — finding out what the seniors wanted from the prom, improving their own communication skills, and learning about the lives of the community's elderly citizens.

Based on the interviews, the students chose to go with a 1930s and 1940s "Mood Indigo" swing theme, with a finger-food menu that included foods for diabetics. YouthWorks! students and staff spent four months working on the service-learning project. They planned every aspect of the prom and enlisted partners to help with funding, decorations, door prizes, food, transportation, and advertising. The weekend of the dance, more than 75 volunteers joined the students to prepare the space, food, and costumes. YouthWorks! also received more than $10,000 in cash and in-kind contributions from local individuals, businesses, and organizations.

More than 100 guests from nursing homes, senior citizen centers, and the community at-large attended the prom, which was a rousing success. But the Mood Indigo Seniors' Prom was more than a wonderful evening for the elderly guests; it was also a triumph for the students. They engaged in weekly reflections, learning and growing through the process, and they gained new skills and discussed the alienation both they and the seniors felt.

"When our students walked into the class last August, many were apathetic and lacking self assurance," Richey says. Through the process, she adds, the students gained a greater sense of self-confidence; improved their ability to speak to others, both publicly and privately; and gained a much greater sense of responsibility for their futures.

"It was a challenge for them," she says. "But they rose to the challenge. It was a wonderful event."