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We applaud Isle of Wight County Schools and its students and staff who are making prom possible this year.

Reporting by Stephen Faleski on the front page discusses this year’s proms for county students. Windsor High School will hold its prom May 22 — that’s today, if you’re reading this edition on its first day on the streets — and Smithfield High School will hold its prom on June 5.

The school division reversed course after realizing it could hold outdoor proms and accommodate more students, spokeswoman Lynn Briggs stated. The decision roughly coincides with the continued lifting of more restrictions aimed at reducing COVID-19.

As long as they can be done safely and within the restrictions set forth by the state government, we support this return to some sense of normalcy for our local high school students.

These students have had well over a year of what they expected to be their high school experience wrecked by the pandemic, starting with the last three months of last school year. This year, also, has been much different, with some of their friends participating in virtual learning, significant events greatly changed or canceled, and more.

The current seven-day average of new cases reported in Isle of Wight County is only 2, and the county’s vaccination rate is the highest of any other locality in South Hampton Roads and Western Tidewater.

With the current low rate of community transmission in Isle of Wight County, the high rate of vaccinations among the local population in general, and the plans for outdoor shindigs and other mitigation measures, we are pleased to see these important rites of passage return.

We hope and believe these events will turn out to be memorable occasions for our young people without any spread of COVID-19.