Waukee has become the latest school district to say it's no longer celebrating Valentine's Day. After receiving feedback from teachers and counselors, district officials learned their staff was putting way too many resources into helping students decorate their Valentine's Day trinkets.
The school district also realized there was a growing number of families in their community that didn’t celebrate the holiday.
“It's hard to understand if you're not in our buildings. But there are all different types of families and we want to embrace that. We want to make sure everybody's welcome here, and that they can celebrate each other, each day. And it doesn't have to be on Valentine's cards and with boxes.,” Communications Director, Amy Varcoe told WHO-TV 13.
To be more inclusive, Waukee will now throw spring or "Give Love" parties. This will still give students a chance to have fun with classmates and engage in activities that promote acts of kindness and giving love on a broader spectrum.
“Our motto in Waukee is "give love." We've had that model for three years. And so a lot of what will happen in our buildings on that day are cards for retirement communities, our law enforcement police, fire, military and teaching our students how to give back in a big way,” Varcoe says
According to a WHO-HD Channel 13 Facebook poll as of Friday at 6:00 a.m. 76-percent of the nearly 6,000 respondents were in favor of keeping Valentine’s Day parties in elementary schools. But Varcoe says the majority of the parents who reached out to the Waukee Community School District principals have been in favor of rebranding the celebration.