Ask them to organize after-school Halloween events for those students and parents who wish to participate. But if you re thinking of completely eliminating Halloween in your school, wait until November. Canceling traditions, even silly ones, at the last minute makes a lot of people unhappy. Once October 31st has come and gone, call together parents and teachers with a range of views about Halloween, and begin to explore alternatives that might satisfy everyone. For example, many schools now substitute harvest festivals or similar celebrations for Halloween.
Kids still dress up, celebrate and have fun without the controversy.
Whatever schools do, they shouldn t ignore parental concerns about Halloween, especially those motivated by religious convictions. Instead of digging their heels in to defend Halloween, schools should use the controversy to find out why so many conservative religious parents are distrustful of public schools. Dealing with Halloween is the easy part the greater challenge is to re-build a common vision for the common good in our public schools. Dr. Charles C. Haynes is Senior Scholar at the First Amendment Center.