With temperatures down to seven degrees below zero and wind chills around 30 degrees below zero almost all school districts have cancelled school for the day except for the Chicago Public Schools and a few suburban schools.
CPS schools rarely close down for any weather related incidents. Is this a good thing or a bad thing?
With these sub zero temperatures it is dangerous for students to be in the cold waiting at bus stops or walking to nearby schools. However, if school is cancelled some parents have nowhere to bring their children for the day.
So are the CPS and the few suburban schools doing a responsible thing today by having school because they are helping out the parents or are they doing an irresponsible thing by not being cautious about the health of their students? What do you think? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Update: A viewer requested we post the statement from CPS concerning yesterday's cold weather.
We do everything we can to keep our schools open to serve our children and our families. An unscheduled day off of school is a tremendous hardship on our thousands of working parents, and it would leave them with very tough decisions regarding care for their children. But we do not second-guess our parents when it comes to the safety of their children. If parents feel it is unsafe to send their children to school on days of extreme-weather conditions, those children will receive an excused absence.
Comments (4)
Hello Mr Ducan,
I am a concern partent of a chicago public school student, whom was kick through a wall at school today from a kid who came from a shcool for bad kids, why is this student allowed to go to school with kids without problems, this young man has had problems with the law, and fighting teachers, and hurting other kids at this school, I think that because this student is special ed that he can't be kick out of school. But if he keeps bulling kids they will drop out of school. I would like to know what are you going to do about this problem, I am really upset that this kid was allowed to kick my son in front of a teacher, when are our kids saf
Posted by Cassandra | January 16, 2009 12:30 PM
Posted on January 16, 2009 12:30
What is CPS, Cicero and Melrose Park thinking about in regards to not closing schools? The temperature is far below freezing and the coldest temperature in over 15 years and they feel it is necessary for these students to come to school? I am a former teacher in Melrose Park and I know that almost all of the students in that district, as well as in Cicero walk to school. Most of them do not have adequate clothing to brave these bitterly, deadly cold temperatures. School districts are suppose to put CHILDREN FIRST and these districts obviously care more about the state aid than the students. Something needs to be done about this insanity.
Posted by Roger Graza | January 16, 2009 9:28 AM
Posted on January 16, 2009 09:28
can u all please post up the release statement from cps that it is a an excused absence regarding the dangerously cold temperature because they are giving us parents are hard time if u kept your child home.
Posted by kentoya layne | January 15, 2009 5:47 PM
Posted on January 15, 2009 17:47
I think that it is irresponsible to hold class on a day that is this cold. I am a mother of a CPS student and I drop him off everyday, so he is not in any danger of exposure. But on the way to his school today I seen alot of kids walking over 5 blocks to school and my heart goes out to them.
Posted by January Overton | January 15, 2009 10:29 AM
Posted on January 15, 2009 10:29