Late fall can be a scary time for schools as they navigate the much-loved but increasingly complicated tradition of Halloween costumes and parties in schools.
Even 10 years ago, most schools wouldn’t think twice about hosting a Halloween parade with costumed students or a “trunk-or-treat” in the parking lot. However, as their student bodies have grown more diverse—with families who either don’t celebrate Halloween or find the holiday offensive to their religious beliefs—some schools are instead pursuing creative and less spooky workarounds.
In an informal poll of 336 school leaders conducted by Education Week, 41 percent said they don’t allow students to wear Halloween costumes at school. The responses may be reflective of schools’ efforts to be more culturally sensitive, inclusive, and cognizant that some families might not have the financial resources to buy costumes. School leaders might also be wary of introducing any distractions from learning. Some districts cite safety concerns.
While some schools have outright banned celebrations, others are trying to put an educational twist on Halloween. Book character days and parades are popular, with students dressing up as their favorite storybook characters. Sometimes, the schools warn participating students not to dress as anything spooky or scary.
In schools that do allow students to dress up in Halloween costumes, like Glasgow Middle School in Fairfax County, Va., some restrict masks, hats, and props.
Halloween can be a time for fun learning
Giuliana Brink, the principal at O.B. Gates Elementary School in Chesterfield, Va., empathizes with other principals who’ve either banned or tweaked Halloween celebrations. The risk of something going wrong, or someone getting upset, is high.
“Someone’s going to rip or break something, and the parents are going to blame me,” said Brink, about her decision to ban costumes in her elementary school.
Gates also doesn’t allow any Halloween-themed classroom parties. If a classroom teacher does want to host a celebration, they call it a “fall festival.”
Brink has tried to replace the Halloween celebrations with a learning opportunity. The kindergarten students dress up as their favorite nursery rhyme characters and put on a show for their parents.
For the rest of the grades, Brink allows students to come dressed as book characters, if it can be tied back to the curriculum.
“They can compare and contrast characters in a book [they’re reading] and make an oral presentation about why they chose to dress up as one character over the other,” said Brink.
Teachers at Gates keep a supply of extra costumes and props for students who didn’t dress up but want to participate.
In the last 20 years, Brink has watched her school’s demographics change—the share of Hispanic and American Indian students has increased. For Brink, it’s been an “eye-opening cultural shift” which has made her, as a leader, more responsive and inclusive of different cultural backgrounds.
“We made the language [around holidays] more seasonal. We’re trying to be more globally aware. It’s not just about American traditions anymore,” Brink said. Five years ago, the school hosted its first-ever celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. Hispanic authors came into school to speak with students.
Even as she’s put a stop to holiday or religious celebrations in school, Brink is conscious that students still need to have fun. Her rule, though, is that even fun events should have a learning element. She wants to shift the focus from “parties” to reading, math, and learning different languages.
“What I’m trying to do is celebrate in a unified way so that all students can take part,” said Brink.
Halloween bans can seem excessive to parents
Not all parents are onboard with Brink’s ban on Halloween. When a parent raises concerns, Brink asks to meet with them in person to explain the logic behind holding more inclusive events.
But in other schools, parents have successfully pushed school districts to walk back their bans on Halloween costumes and traditions.
The 6,800-student South Orange-Maplewood School District in Essex County, N.J., recently reversed its 2023 decision to ban Halloween-themed events. In last year’s letter to parents announcing schools would not celebrate Halloween, Superintendent Ronald G. Taylor said the district was trying to be more culturally and financially inclusive.
The decision brought swift criticism from some parents, who felt that the school had gone overboard with “good intentions” and would deprive their children from participating in a “fun event,” according to reporting by the New York Post. The district’s decision was also criticized publicly by Gov. Phil Murphy in a post on the social media platform X.
With a new superintendent now at the helm, the district has reversed its ban but left it up to individual school principals to decide how to celebrate Halloween, as long as no student is “excluded” because of religious beliefs or economic background.
