For the last decade, IDEA Public Schools has celebrated all their seniors who got accepted into a university or college.

In December, the charter school system announced a College Signing Day celebration to be held at the Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg.

Last week, IDEA announced to parents that the event was cancelled so that each campus could hold their own celebration in their cafeterias.

In response, hundreds of upset seniors and their parents gathered Friday at the IDEA Public Schools headquarters in Weslaco to protest the scaling back of College Signing Day.  

“It's the big, huge moment that you dream of,” senior Laura Salinas said. “[Now] there's no specialness to it. An arena is so different than the cafeteria; the moment and the feeling that you get is not the same."

Many seniors who were at Friday's school board meeting threatened to walk out if their large scale college signing day isn't reinstated. 

A spokesperson for IDEA Public Schools released the following statement:

“College Signing Day is a longstanding tradition that celebrates IDEA’s core belief that college is for everyone. We have listened to the concerns of students and parents and are committed to working with senior representatives to continue the conversation and find a successful way to celebrate the achievements of seniors while responsibly prioritizing investments in our classrooms.”

Salinas believes that since IDEA holds students at a very high standard, the school board should expect the same. 

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