Shawna Steeves Battles PTO Over School Dance, Offered Own Party
Shawna Steeves is not a celebrity, but she will receive a party of her very own. Shawna’s eight-year-old daughter asked her mother to take her to the annual father-daughter dance at her school. The girl’s father is not in her life, but the young girl still wanted to attend. According to ABC News, this is where Shawna Steeves’ issues began.
Shawna agreed to take her daughter to the dance, and she received permission to do so from the principal of Southwest Elementary School in Lawson, Missouri. The school function is scheduled for next weekend.
Shawna and her daughter, Meghan, were excited about the event. The pair even went dress shopping for the dance. However, a week after the principal gave Shawna permission to attend the dance, the school official called Shawna again.
This time, the call had bad news. The Parent Teacher Organization, who is behind the planned event, decided that Shawna would not be allowed her to take her daughter to the event. The PTO did offer Shawna and her daughter some alternatives to the mother’s attendance.
One of those options was to find a male substitute to take Meghan to the event. This decision outraged the single mother. She revealed that the PTO did not even give her the option to attend the dance as a chaperone.
The Southwest Parent Teacher Organization released a statement to a local television station.
“Our PTO works very hard at creating events that give ample opportunity for all families to [participate] in throughout the year. Regarding the situation with this event there were several options given to this family and all families so that all Southwest elementary school aged girls are welcome to attend regardless of their family situation. Our goal is to keep this special event authentic. We offer many other events that are family oriented. Examples would be muffins with mom and donuts with dad, the family 5 k walk/run, pancakes with Santa, Trunk or treat and our mother son challenge. We are very proud of our organization and what we do for the students and our community.”
Another local organization in Missouri heard of Shawna and Meghan’s battle, and they offered their own solution. They are throwing Meghan her own dance, and all of the students from her school are invited to attend.
Antonio DeLaCruz, a member of Missouri Widows Sons Masonic Riders Association, spoke out about the organization’s decision to hold the separate event, according to Mail Online.
“It’s open to all the students and they can bring any adult role model they wish. Of course, she’s the driving force, but there’s other kids in her situation that want to attend school functions like the father-daughter dance and they can’t.”
After Meghan learned that she could not attend the school dance with her mother, she tried to write a letter to the school organization in order to change their minds. She sees her mother as both mom and dad, and she did not want to take anyone else to the event.
What do you think of Shawna Steeves’ story? Should she have been allowed to take her daughter to the father-daughter dance at the elementary school her daughter attends?
[Photo: Facebook]
