Lancaster parents said they are frustrated after Mary Rowlandson Elementary School’s annual Halloween Husky Walk was canceled this year.
Parents said they received a letter from Principal Scott Blanchard stating that a growing number of students choosing not to participate is what prompted the decision.
“My kid’s grandmother walked in the walk, all four kids I have walked in the walk, I walked in the walk, my husband’s walked in the walk, it’s just one of those right to passage things. It’s a tradition that has lasted, oh, it’s been since the 60s at least,” Mary Flynn, a parent, tells Boston 25.
Controversy in Worcester County after
a long time tradition is canceled,
but people are not giving up without a fight.
Boston 25 news reporter Ellie Morillo is live in Lancaster.
And Ellie, there's a petition to bring back the Halloween Husky Walk.
Yeah, and look, parents that I spoke with tell me
that this is more than just a Halloween parade.
It's tradition, one that adds a little magic to the Halloween season.
And like you mentioned, they're not going down without a fight.
It's the history of the town.
Mary Flynn tells me the annual Halloween Husky Walk at Mary Rowlandson
Elementary School symbolizes so much more than just costumes and candy.
My kid's grandmother walked in the walk.
All four kids I have walked in the walk.
I walked in the walk. My husband walked in the walk.
It was just, it's one of those rite of passage things.
It's a tradition that has lasted, oh, it's been since the 60s at least.
This October, parents say Principal
Scott Blanchard decided to call it off.
This is the letter parents say they received back in September.
In part, Blanchard states,
I have noticed a growing number of students choosing
not to participate in our annual Halloween Husky Walk.
This trend has prompted me to reflect more deeply on the event.
When we asked, we were told in the past there
was roughly about 24 students
who opted to either stay home
or do another option that we always provide every year.
And this past year,
we were quoted that it was 56 students out of about 470, roughly.
And if you do the math, it's about 11%.
Now a petition started by parents has over 400 signatures calling
for the walk to be revived.
It's just a 15-minute walk down the street,
but it means everything to not only our children,
but to a lot of people in this community who don't have children.
All in the name of tradition, it has to come back.
Now I did reach out to Principal Blanchard directly and he tells me
that he realizes just how much this tradition means to the community.
He did cite lack of participation as a reason why
and says that he is aware that parents want the walk reinstated.
When I asked him if he would reconsider, I didn't get a response.
We're live in Lancaster. I'm Ellie Morillo
for your local station, Boston 25 News.
