Backlash grows after high school allegedly asks grieving mother to leave school prom
The mother of 17-year-old Noricia Talabert just wanted to live her daughter’s dream.
Regina Talabert lost her child to gun violence when the teenager was caught in gang crossfire and died last October. Noricia was an honor roll student with dreams of attending University of Central Florida– now she would never see graduation or dance the night away at prom.
But last Friday, Regina Talabert got a call a few hours before prom from State Rep. Kionne McGhee inviting her to join him as his date.
McGhee had reportedly already cleared the date with the school, and the assistant principal even greeted the lovely couple with a hug and kissed Noricia’s picture when they arrived at the prom. Talabert wore her daughter’s necklace in her honor.
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Talabert was able to dance with McGhee and mingle with her daughter’s friends for some time and did not realize that there had been trouble until the next morning, when her friend, Tangela Sears, posted photos from the prom night along with the message: ‘[Miami-Dade County Public Schools] asked them to leave the Prom. Yes, they put them out. Shame on You MDCPS.”
It turns out the two had been asked to stay out of the prom ballroom, a policy State Rep. McGhee reportedly ignored.
The school’s assistant principal J.C. DeArmas said that Talabert’s attendance at the prom was not a problem, but he did ask McGhee not to go into the ballroom because of the policy of letting students enjoy prom to themselves without parents.
DeArmas says he allowed them to remain out of respect for Talabert, but when State Rep. McGhee tried to get the DJ to give a shoutout to Talabert, he stepped in again, as shoutouts were against policy as well.
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The assistant principal reportedly stepped in a third time to try to get McGhee to leave as they were about to crown the prom queen, as he wanted to spare Talabert’s feelings.
Once the social media post about the encounter went viral, the backlash from the community grew.
“It really hurts me to know they wanted us to leave,” Talabert told the Miami Herald. “We weren’t causing any problems.”
The school defends its position and says the post doesn’t tell the full story.
“People are saying we have no heart, we don’t care and that’s a problem,” DeArmas said. “To work in these schools you have to have heart. You have to love what you do, otherwise why would you do it?”
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