01-09-12
Planning a Middle School or High School Valentine’s Day Dance

If you’ve signed up to plan and run the school Valentine’s Day dance, you’ve taken on a challenging (but rewarding) project. Have fun with it, but be sure to cross your T’s and dot your i’s for a top notch good time. The following are suggestions for planning a school dance:

Enlist Adult Volunteers
Before you do anything else, you’ll need to gather a committee of volunteers to help you put on this event. When enlisting volunteers, be sure to do the following:

• Make sure they are cleared (background check as required by your school) as volunteers
• Specify exactly what tasks you need volunteers to cover so they know what they are signing up for (decorating the gym, cleaning up, taking tickets, monitoring the halls, chaperoning the dance, etc.)
• Communicate early on and regularly with your volunteers
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• Maintain a respectful, grateful tone at all times
• Check back in with your volunteers before the actual date duties are due

Plan Activities
One of the most essential parts of a successful school dance is planned activities. If you just let a mob of kids run around in a gym for three hours, you’ll end up with exactly that – a mob. An unruly, potentially destructive mob. To prevent fights, accidents, and general chaos, be sure to plan something like:

• An entertaining DJ who will interact with the audience (you may need to hire someone, since most parents and teachers just aren’t skilled in this area)
• Interactive, structured games
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• A big attraction (such as a photobooth rental or a Valentine’s Day mural that needs decorating – something where the kids can participate for a short while)
• Competitions for prizes (these can involve costumes, dances, performances, etc.)

Handling the Food
When hosting an event at a school, you will have to check with school policies about food preparation, food service, and food regulations. Some things to check into are:

• What types of foods are allowed for service at extra-curricular events?
• What sorts of precautions must be taken to prevent complications due to food allergies?
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• Can you use the kitchen in the cafeteria? If so, do you need school-employed kitchen workers doing the cooking and serving? Will you need to pay them overtime? What kind of contract will you need to use?
• Can outside food (i.e. pizza, meals from local restaurants) be catered in? Who is allowed to serve such food? Cafeteria workers or volunteers?
• Are you allowed to charge for food, or will you need to fund the food served through PTA, PTO, or a specific class or student group?
• What sort of sanitation regulations must be observed? (plastic gloves, hair nets, etc.)

Working With The School Staff
Make sure you check with the school staff before executing your plan. In particular, ask about:

• Dress code
• Times and dates
• Music (what is acceptable and what is not)
• Food
• Expectations regarding responsibilities (how much the staff will need to be involved as opposed to how much will be run by volunteers)
• Guidelines and requirements (Does the principal need to be there? A security guard? Etc.)
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Have Fun!
There’s nothing like a school dance! Adrenaline, enthusiasm, hormones… you’ll get to enjoy the thrill of middle school or high school all over again, but from the safety of the director’s chair. Have a great time, and don’t forget to take some pictures!