This story was originally produced by Seacoastonline. NHPR is republishing it in partnership with the Granite State News Collaborative.
Peggy Massicotte did not give much thought to whether Exeter schools had dances until her kids were old enough to attend one.
Now, she is campaigning for SAU 16 to allow Exeter High School to hold its first homecoming dance since 2015, when dances were banned due to what then-superintendent Mike Morgan called “inappropriate student behavior.” Massicotte, who moved with her young children to Exeter the year before, said local kids are missing out on a healthy social activity because of the actions of a prior class.
“It just makes me so sad after all the kids have been going through,” Massicotte said. “That the community can’t rally around the idea of giving kids a homecoming dance.”
Massicotte has a petition on Change.org that has gathered more than 700 signatures. It is addressed to the SAU 16 School Board and administration and makes a case that a homecoming dance offers a safe activity that promotes drug abstinence, higher academic achievement and better mental health.
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