A Sobering Story of Progressive Parents and Grad Night Fun

It was just another phone call with a story idea, but it ended up affecting my life directly and very pleasantly.

The call came in June, 1985, when I was the education writer for the Orange County Edition of The Times. A pleasant, friendly voice on the other end said, “Hi, Bill. I’m Lori Warmington, and a friend suggested I call you about a story that’s related to education.”

Inwardly I groaned. Feature story ideas about education are as prevalent as sand pebbles on the beach. Nonetheless, Warmington’s call quickly became intriguing. “This is about parties three coastal-area high schools hold on graduation night,” she said. “It’s to make Grad Night safe--without any alcohol or drugs. It’s something we hope will spread to other high schools.”

I agreed to meet Warmington and some other parents of Newport Harbor High students who were building Grad Night party props in a vacant warehouse. The party theme for Newport Harbor that year was “Evening in Paris,” and I was slack-jawed by the professional-looking Parisian street scenes being built by these enthusiastic parents.

I learned from Warmington that Laguna Beach High, Corona del Mar High and Newport Harbor High had held Grad Night parties for several years. She was coordinating public relations for those three high schools. Later, I found out that Valencia High in Placentia was actually the trailblazer, having started Grad Night parties in 1957.

But in 1985, only those four high schools in Orange County had Grad Nights. The concept involves having parents plan a year in advance for an all-night party for graduating seniors, to be held on the high school campus. The parents raise money for elaborate decorations, live bands, all-night entertainment booths, free food throughout the evening, and scores of prizes and games.

High school graduation night, according to the California Highway Patrol, can be one of the most deadly. Celebrating seniors sometimes have fatal car accidents as they drive to or from parties, the CHP has said. Valencia High’s Grad Night, in fact, was started by parents because one student had been killed and another paralyzed in a 1956 graduation-night car accident.

At Grad Night parties, strict security keeps out any alcohol or drugs. But seniors I talked to said they didn’t resent the rules because Grad Night was so much fun. “It’s our last time together, and we really jam,” said one graduating senior. “And, like, there’s an incredible amount of food,” said another.

Warmington, like many other parents of graduating seniors, found it exhilarating to work on her son’s Grad Night party, getting to know other parents and school staff better during the process.

“My dream is to have this spread to all the other high schools in Orange County,” Warmington said in 1985. When she found out I had a son who would enter Huntington Beach High School in the fall of 1986, Warmington said: “I certainly hope your high school takes up Grad Night. It would be a great present for your son, and, Bill, you can’t believe how much fun it is for parents.”

Warmington and another Newport Beach parent, Judy Hemley, co-founded the nonprofit Grad Night Foundation in September, 1986. The foundation, based in Costa Mesa, helps high schools start Grad Nights by giving them “how-to” instruction and guidance. Warmington said that 47 of the 65 comprehensive public and private high schools in Orange County will have a Grad Night this year--compared to only four in 1985.

“It’s also spread to high schools in every county in California and to every state in the nation,” Warmington said. “This week we got inquiries from Hong Kong, Japan, West Germany and the Philippines.”

Thanks to the leadership of two parents at Huntington Beach High--Allison Barsh and Pat Will--that high school last year joined the growing ranks of those sponsoring annual Grad Night parties. My son Patrick was a junior last year, and I was among parents who volunteered to work for the first party for graduating seniors.

The experience--as Warmington had predicted--was great fun. I met scores of parents of other students, in all grades, who also volunteered. I saw bankers, accountants, airline pilots, regional business executives and police officers all working together in old clothes on many a Saturday. These parents painted, hammered, sawed--and formed lasting friendships and closer ties to the high school.

Now it is 1990, and my son is a graduating senior. I am again working on the Grad Night Committee--this time very selfishly, as my son is among those who will be at the party.

Recently I had the chance to thank Warmington and the Grad Night Foundation for their work. The story that I had covered back in 1985 has now become a growing, continuing, national phenomenon. And it is one of those stories that has personally touched and enriched my own life.