A prom for special needs students in Rexburg encourages the community to help these students have a night they’ll never forget.

Payton Berry is a special education teacher at Madison High School and explained that the Best Buddies Club is dedicated to promoting inclusivity and fostering meaningful connections between students of all abilities. The club sponsors different activities to help students make friends.

“We just try to help kids to have the best experience at high school that they can,” Berry said. “We want students with disabilities to be involved with their peers and that’s kind of how the Best Buddies Club came about. It’s not just students with disabilities, it’s for any student who wants to participate or make friends or needs a friend.”

One of the events that the Best Buddies Club hosts is the Best Buddies Prom.

Berry said local companies in the area give donations to support the prom — whether that be money or other resources. Liberty GMC volunteered fancy cars to drive students around and drop them off at the dance. Nailed It salon volunteered its time to do the girls’ nails for the dance.

This is the third annual Best Buddies Prom. Berry said he and other teachers noticed some students were missing out on experiences like prom and the student section. They started to wonder ways to get those students more involved. He said they can go to prom if they want, but an environment with 1,000 students dancing to loud music and flashing lights is not ideal for them. That is when they realized they could put on a prom that fit the needs of the special needs students. The Best Buddies Prom has around 75 kids, the music is not as loud, and there aren’t too many lights.

“It’s a really cool experience to where it’s a little smaller and the kids can really shine and have a good experience, versus if you have too many kids it can feel like you get lost in the crowd sometimes,” Barry said.

Barry and his team strive to make sure the students get the whole prom experience. They help students find a date if they want one, and a dinner is served.

Last year, a local company provided a light tunnel for the students to walk through. They also had a red carpet, and each student was announced as they walked in.

Special education teacher Addy McIntyre said that is one of her favorite memories.

“Seeing all of their reactions and faces when they look out and see all these people who love them and care about them. ... It’s their shining moment to have the spotlight. I think that was probably my favorite part is just seeing how happy and excited all of them were to have that special moment,” McIntyre said.

“This is the moment where they realize, ‘I’m special, I’m awesome. I’m fantastic.’ You can see it on their face and they’re just smiling ear to ear,” Barry said.

Jessica Laws’ son, Kaden, is a senior and this will be his third time attending the Best Buddies Prom. Laws said Kaden has “absolutely loved” prom.

“It has just been a night to remember for him. It’s been a really special time where he’s been able to be there with friends and feel totally accepted,” Laws said.

Laws said that as a parent of a child with special needs, it is a dream come true that events like these are put on for their kids.

“We just hope that events like this would happen for our kids, and so to have it happen the past few years has just been really fantastic,” Laws said.

At the Madison High School basketball game on Wednesday, Jan. 29, at 7 p.m., students from the special education program who are not normally involved with the basketball games will warm up with the basketball team, cheer with the cheerleaders, and be in the student section. During halftime, there will be two games of lightning, and those winners get to pie two of the high school’s principals.

Berry explained the principals will be voted for by people at the game. In the common area, people can buy a ticket for a dollar to cast a vote. All the proceeds from that will go towards the Best Buddies Prom.

McIntyre encourages the community to come support the students at the basketball game on Wednesday.

“Not only are these students so incredibly special, but we are lucky to live in a community that is so supportive and so welcoming and so inclusive. Coming out to support an event like this means so much more than just donating money because the opportunities and memories and experiences that it provides for these students with special needs is really life changing,” McIntyre said. “It’s an opportunity to participate in something that has a lifelong impact on people.”

The Best Buddies Prom will be on April 25 at Madison High School. If anyone is interested in donating, please reach out to the finance office at Madison High School.