Kids from across Central Texas lined up outside the Pavilion at Carleen Bright Arboretum on Saturday for the largest homeschool prom event in the Waco area. Hosted by the nonprofit Waco Home School Dances, the event welcomed over 250 kids for an underwater-themed night of dancing.
Mindy Skains, founder of the nonprofit and former homeschool mom, said she puts a lot of effort into the event because homeschooled students do not always get the same opportunities as public-school students.
“We really try to make it special for the kids because they don’t always have other options,” she said. “I want them to have a phenomenal prom.”
While it is a homeschool prom, Skains said other students, ages 14 to 19, are welcome to attend as dates, drawing in participants from Dallas to Austin and plenty of small towns in between.
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“Public school, private school, homeschool, we have great kids that come to this,” she said.
Homeschool student Brayli Cochran, 15, traveled for about an hour from Whitney to attend the prom with her public-school friend Brazos Burns, 14. Both said they were looking forward to spending the night dancing to new country music.
“It’s very exciting,” Burns said. “I’ve been to dances, but I’ve never been to a prom before.”
Cochran’s mom, Sonia Cochran, was working as a chaperone at the event and said she was following Waco Home School Dances’ Facebook account for a couple years before deciding to let her daughter attend. She said she was attracted to the event because it prioritized safety.
“They’re very specific with their security and their dress code, and it seems like somewhere that you can trust your kid will be safe,” she said.
Cochran said she was looking for events like this because she has always been invested in giving her daughter the same opportunities as public school students have.
“I hope she dances until her feet hurt, and then I hope she takes her shoes off and dances some more and just has fun,” she said. “I hope to see lots of laughter and smiles tonight.”
Skains said, as far as she is aware, this is the the largest homeschool prom in Central Texas. She said the Texas Christian Homeschool Prom in Dallas is bigger, but this prom is the more affordable option, with tickets costing $72 and the Dallas event costing over $100.
“It’s really a phenomenal prom, but I’ve also heard it is really expensive and a lot of kids can’t afford that prom,” she said. “We are the option where you can afford it and still have a really beautiful prom.”
Skains said she started organizing prom events as an informal side project a couple years ago. She organized her first prom in 2017, an event she paid for out of pocket that attracted over 50 kids. Positive feedback from parents and attendees encouraged Skains to keep organizing prom events each year. By 2021, over 100 kids attended Skain’s prom event.
Last year, Skains organized what she thought would be her last prom event. It was her son’s senior prom and around 200 kids attended. However, Skains said the annual event’s growth encouraged her to keep going.
“I don’t have any kids anymore in it, but at that point I’d put so much effort into this over the years to make it what it is,” she said.
Skains said she founded the nonprofit this year and has formed a board of local public-school moms to help her organize the event. Skains said all the money that is made goes straight back into next year’s event, and due to the prom’s popularity, she can now pay for the venue, police officers, event insurance, a photographer, a DJ, refreshments, professional decorations and a party favor for each attendee.
“It turned from my husband and I paying out of pocket for prom into us being able to put money down on a venue and pay for it from the previous year’s prom, so it’s come quite a way, and I’m proud of what it’s become, but I’m ready to eventually get homeschool families involved,” Skains said.
With the event continuing to grow and find more success each year, Skains said she hopes to recruit more homeschool parents to the board and eventually pass on the organization to another homeschool parent by 2026.
“I need parents with younger kids who are willing to step up and eventually take this over because it’s grown every year and it’s going to continue to grow, and I just don’t want this to fall apart,” she said. “That would be my goal, by 2026, I’ve completely stepped out, and I’m there in case they need anything, but a whole new board has taken over and they’re running with it.”