Greg Dohler/The Star
Woodmore Elementary School student Jayson Pinnock, 9, traces the outline of a leaf while making fall-themed crafts in art class on Tuesday.
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At school dances and festivals this week, plenty of children will be donning costumes and collecting candy. Just don't call the revelry Halloween.
Over the last decade, public schools have shied away from hosting traditional Halloween activities to keep from excluding students who don't participate in the day, usually due to religious objections, said Jo Paoletti, an American studies professor at the University of Maryland, College Park. But to keep in step with the festive season, many area schools opt to have fall harvest parties instead.
"It's just a fun, safe evening for the children to get together and celebrate with their friends and siblings and parents," said Naleski of the carnival games, face painting and book sales taking place.
In the classroom, instead of collecting candy, second-graders will make their own caramel apples.
"We just have the mentality that you focus on the fall season and not all the candy and the scary stuff," Naleski said.
Opting out of Halloween is a stance the school has had for years, said Principal Brian Baudoin.
"Many schools in the last 15 to 20 years have gotten away from that word just from the point of it being exclusive," he said.
The fall festivals seem to represent the middle ground for parents who object to Halloween celebrations and those who get just as decked out in costume as their children, Paoletti said.
"A lot of parents recognize this as a way as trying to keep the peace," Paoletti said. "And in a multicultural society it's something we have to get used to."
The Prince George's County Public Schools do not have an official stance on Halloween celebrations, said spokesman John White.
"As the principals work with their instructional staff they try to think of ways they can make [celebrations] fairly educational without taking away from the fun of the season," he said.
At Yorktown Elementary School in Bowie, Vice Principal Emma Forte said the school has a costumed parade, but the students will transform themselves into characters from stories they are reading rather than wear typical Halloween costumes.
"We do it around Halloween time but we are not to have students dressed in Halloween costumes," Forte said.
It is a fine line to walk, which is why other schools won't be celebrating either ghosts or harvests. Although Woodmore Elementary School in Mitchellville is hosting a dance tonight, Principal Jill Walker said it is simply the school's first welcome back dance.
"So many of our children don't celebrate Halloween so we've kind gotten away from it," Walker said.
E-mail Andrea Noble at anoble@gazette.net.
