--- description: First picks in the NFL draft get millions of dollars to play football. But at one high school, that "number one draft" formula has been... title: High School 'Prom Draft' a Bust image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0b9683e8e16f6774/69868e42361760dcf890bdf9/prom-draft-corona-del-mar.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Newport Beach High School Gets Called Out on 'Prom Draft' by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 7, 2014 6:37 PM CUT  by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 7, 2014 6:37 PM CUT First picks in the NFL draft get millions of dollars to play football. But at one high school, that “number one draft” formula [has been applied controversially](http://time.com/89339/promposals-prom-draft/ "undefined") to something else: Finding a date for prom. And not everyone is happy about it. Male students at Corona del Mar High School in Newport Beach, Calif., have long selected their prom date through a slotted system, much like a professional sport draft. The rules and results get posted on Twitter. Some parents and school officials, however, do not want the female students to feel as if they are being judged or ranked. This isn’t the first time that Corona del Mar High School has made news in recent years. There was a [cheating scandal](http://articles.latimes.com/2014/jan/29/local/la-me-cheating-scandal-20140130 "undefined") earlier this year and a lawsuit by the [ACLU](https://www.aclu.org/lgbt-rights%5Fwomens-rights/aclusc-settles-lawsuit-over-orange-county-high-school-tolerated-homophobia "undefined") in 2009 for allowing “a sexist and homophobic atmosphere.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/91198/newport-beach-high-school-gets-called-out-on-prom-draft/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/91198/newport-beach-high-school-gets-called-out-on-prom-draft/"},"headline":"Newport Beach High School Gets Called Out on 'Prom Draft'","datePublished":"2014-05-07T18:37:22.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:42:26.827Z","description":"First picks in the NFL draft get millions of dollars to play football. But at one high school, that \"number one draft\" formula has been...","url":"https://time.com/91198/newport-beach-high-school-gets-called-out-on-prom-draft/","keywords":["California","NFL"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0b9683e8e16f6774/69868e42361760dcf890bdf9/prom-draft-corona-del-mar.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0b9683e8e16f6774/69868e42361760dcf890bdf9/prom-draft-corona-del-mar.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Prom Draft Corona Del Mar","caption":"Prom Draft Corona Del Mar","creditText":"","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/91198/newport-beach-high-school-gets-called-out-on-prom-draft/","name":"Newport Beach High School Gets Called Out on 'Prom Draft'"}}]}] ```