BY EMMA HUERTA
Like many other schools, CCHS has unique traditions, such as annual events, games or other activities to bring the student body together. A well-known CCHS tradition is Stampede, which is a fundraiser executed by the Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA).
Stampede takes place annually, and during the event students would leave class during A lunch for activities, food trucks and prizes up until the end of B lunch. This was arguably one of the most attractive aspects of the fundraiser, which raised about $16,000 last year.
“Stampede was a very well-planned event that was popular among students and raised a good amount of money,” PTSA Secretary Ana Safrin said. “It’s important to emphasize that all the funds raised were used to help CCHS. They went straight back to school.”
This year, however, things are changing with Stampede. It was recently revealed that Stampede does not comply with a School Board of Broward County (SBBC) policy, established in 1970, which prohibits fundraisers that require students to leave class in order to participate. Now, the PTSA is left scrambling for a solution in order to replace Stampede and still gain its immense revenue.
“Stampede was a very well-planned event that was popular among students and raised a good amount of money.”
“The PTSA began organizing for the Stampede [at] the start of summer, before school started. We have a committee of volunteers that would help,” PTSA President Linda Albrecht said. “We are moving forward by coming up with other options to raise funds that will not conflict with the policy.”
In order to expedite the brainstorming process necessary to reconstruct Stampede, the PTSA sent out a survey for students to complete during their personalization class in order to hear new ideas.
“Students answered a survey two weeks ago regarding some options. PTSA asked students if they would rather have an event after release or on an early release day, an event on a Saturday, an event outside the school or an event with families,” Safrin said. “The opinion of CCHS students is very important because the events organized by PTSA are for the students.”
Out of 359 survey responses, the results are as follows:
- 57% would attend Stampede on an early release day
- 33% would attend on a Saturday
- 39% would attend at a community location other than school
- 29% would attend if their family was also able to attend
- 58% would be interested in attending an after school or evening dance next semester
Further information from the PTSA will also be released on their Instagram, Facebook and Twitter pages.
“I’m glad that PTSA is taking our opinions into account.”
A vital aspect that the PTSA has to keep in mind while recreating Stampede for the 2019-2020 school year is the new date for the event. They have considered early release days as an option, since it could take place after school ends at 12:40 p.m., but the earliest date would be in February.
“We didn’t want the Stampede to disrupt other events going on around that time out of respect for February 14th,” Albrecht said. “As March approaches, then it gets closer to spring break and then as the [end of the] school year approaches, more school events are going on. Timing is what we need to figure out.”
Stampede is an important part of the Cooper City High community, both by raising a lot of money for the school and by bringing the students together for a day of fun. Its significance has only been emphasized with the replanning of the event in order to keep the tradition alive, while also taking SBBC policy into account.
“I think Stampede should continue as a tradition because it was something students looked forward to and [was] a great way to raise money,” junior Amy Van said. “Although it’s been canceled this year, I’m glad that PTSA is taking our opinions into account and hopefully they can find another event to start, like maybe a small carnival over a weekend for the students to get together and hang out with their friends.”
Photo by The Lariat Photography
