Amy Peterson’s daughter Gracie had been getting teased at school for not having a father.
“She had one kid tell her she didn’t have a dad because she’s fat and ugly,” the Henry County mom told Channel 2 Action News.
So when the daughter-father dance rolled around, Peterson got the idea to dress up as a dad and go to the dance, she told the news station.
“(Gracie) was OK with it,” she said. “She was excited that her friends were going to get to see this.”
They even posted a photo of what Peterson would look like taking her daughter to the dance.
But an hour before the two were set to leave, Peterson got a call from the Locust Grove Elementary School principal telling her she couldn’t go.
“She said: ‘No, I forbid you to come and if you show up we will turn you away,’” she told Channel 2.
Peterson had no choice but to tell her 6-year-old they couldn’t go.
The news was just as painful for mom as it was for daughter.
“I identify myself as her father and mother because that’s what I’ve done for six years,” she said.
In a statement to Channel 2, Henry County Schools officials said administrators spoke to Peterson in advance about the dance and said she was told in a dance announcement that any father figure could attend in lieu of a dad.
“The school is cognizant that different dynamics exist across households in our school system,” officials said in the statement. “Anyone with a question as to the requirements or specifics of any school extracurricular event is encouraged to reach out to a school official or teacher.
“There are multiple parent engagement events and opportunities to participate with their kids annually at this school in an effort to make that connection and build school spirit.”
The school also holds a mother-son dance and a sweetheart dance for Valentine’s Day.
The school also offered to refund the mom her $20 and an apology.
Still, Peterson thinks more could have been done.
“I think they handled it poorly,” she told Channel 2, “They shouldn’t have turned any parent away.”
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