The PTA at Krieger Elementary School noticed, at a school dance party last year, many students felt overwhelmed by the volume of the music and surrounding noise.
Which is why this year’s edition, late last month, became what the PTA believes to be the first silent dance party in the Poughkeepsie City School District’s history.
“Loud noise can cause sensory overload, which made it difficult for many students — especially our youngest — to stay for the full length of last year’s dance,” PTA leadership explained. The need was even more important this year, with the Elementary Reconfiguration changing Krieger to a pre-K to grade 2 school.
The PTA rented a silent dance system that included 100 LED light-up headphones for the students, each featuring 60 music channels from three pre-loaded music transmitters. Students could switch between channels and adjust the headphone volume to their preferred levels. In all, roughly 150 people attended the Feb. 27 party, counting parents and volunteers, including 14 Poughkeepsie Middle School students. Eleven National Junior Honor Society members helped with setup, decorations and staffing the stations that included the welcome table with party favors, a craft table and a photo booth. Three members of the middle schools’ student government volunteered to run the concessions stand.
“Using headphones helped Krieger’s youngest students better manage the sounds and stimuli of a dance event, reducing overstimulation. As a result, most families stayed for the entire event — an improvement from last year,” the PTA officers noted.
Jeromina Topaloglu is the Krieger PTA president; Board of Education member Naomi Flinchum-Marquez is treasurer and Carly Fitz-Henley is secretary.
“At Krieger PTA, we always aim to utilize our funds to provide meaningful events that support our students’ health, safety and wellness,” they said. “Our silent dance party combined fun, music and movement while also being mindful of the different sensory needs of our little Krieger Coyotes.”