WINDHAM – Windham and Westbrook police broke up a party Saturday night on Willow Road, issuing summonses to the homeowner, Keith McAvoy, 45, as well as six Windham High School students and one recent graduate.

The bust occurred the evening of Windham High School’s junior and senior proms and comes just weeks after the formation of a community collaborative focused on combating substance abuse in Windham and Raymond.

According to authorities, at 9:30 p.m. on May 10, Windham police received a tip that McAvoy, the parent of two Windham High School students, planned to host a party and provide alcohol to minors. Six Windham police officers and five Westbrook officers responded, Windham police Sgt. Bill Andrew said.

McAvoy was charged with furnishing a place for underage drinking, a class D crime that results in a minimum fine of $1,000. Samuel Manley, 19; Edward Babbitt, 18; Corey Stevenson, 19; and Kyle Dumond, 18, were charged with illegal possession of alcohol by a minor, a crime that can result in a maximum $350 fine. Three juveniles were summonsed on the same charge.

According to Andrew, the five adults are set to appear in Portland District Court on July 15, while the juveniles have a July 24 court date.

Andrew described the event as an outdoor after-prom party with a bonfire, but declined to discuss other details, such as the type of alcohol served. He said about 25 to 30 people, most high school students, were at the party when it was dispersed. Pending further investigation, Andrew said that others could be summonsed, as well.

McAvoy could not be reached for comment.

According to Kelli Deveaux, assistant principal at Windham High School, the school solicited anonymous tips regarding substance use by minors prior to the joint junior and senior prom festivities.

“The high school activated our anonymous tip line and publicized that through our parent email chain, Listserv (an electronic mailing system used by the school), and on the sign on the front of the high school and the Windham Police Association, and the department posted it on their Facebook pages Thursday and Friday before prom,” Deveaux said.

When school officials received a tip about a party on Willow Lane, they referred it to the police, Deveaux said.

“From that we received two tips, one specifically about a party on Willow Drive with the understanding that alcohol would be served,” Deveaux said. “The tip gives the name of the family and the address and that they were hearing that the parents were planning to host a party and provide alcohol to the kids at their residence.”

Deveaux, who has helped organize the Windham-Raymond Community Collaborative, a substance abuse prevention organization established earlier this year, said that the police conducted field sobriety tests at the party to determine who had been drinking. Deveaux said that all the individuals who had been summonsed were male.

None of the students who were summonsed participate in Windham High School sports, Deveaux said, although some student-athletes attended the party. Student drinking has been a much-publicized issue in neighboring Westbrook, where student-athletes are required to sign a code of conduct prohibiting them from participating in sports if they are “knowingly present” at a party where alcohol was being served.

According to Windham High School’s athlete substance abuse policy, simply attending such parties does not warrant formal disciplinary measures.

“Some coaches may choose to have a student sit if they were present, but not drinking,” Deveaux said. “But that’s a team-by-team decision.”

Rich Drummond, athletic director at Windham High School, said that no student-athletes violated the school’s substance abuse policy.

“There were students there, and there could have possibly also been student-athletes there,” Drummond said. “No student-athletes were summonsed and no student-athletes that I’m aware of were in violation of our substance abuse policy.”

Four Windham police officers and two Gorham officers also responded to an event on Middle Jam Road in Gorham on Saturday night.

“They ended up preventing the party from getting started,” Andrew said. “It was early in the stages of the party on Middle Jam. So, really, the party had not started yet. And as officers were there on scene, cars were turning around and leaving.”

Charles Walsh, 18, of Portland, was charged with illegal possession of alcohol by a minor, Andrew said.

Andrew said the department’s collaboration with Windham High School and other departments was designed to ensure a safe prom night.

“Knowing it was prom time, our goal was to make sure that the prom attendees had a safe night,” Andrew said. “Our goal was to prevent anybody from getting injured.”

Deveaux said that high school students have condemned the underage drinking on social media.

“We know underage drinking is an issue in every community, particularly around prom and graduation, and we would rather proactively address this issue than reactively dealing with a tragedy,” Deveaux said. “It was a relatively small event. The great news is that we’re hearing from a number of students either personally or through social media that not only do they not approve of this, but that they didn’t have a party including alcohol and had an amazing prom night. Those are the kids I want to hug.”