By Antonio D. French
Filed Tuesday, February 13, 2007 at 8:55 AM
Due to the icy weather, St. Louis Public Schools officials say that all city schools will be closing early today. Labels: Schools
Those schools that started at 7:20 a.m. will be dismissed today at 11:00 a.m.; those that started at 8:15 a.m. will be dismissed at noon; and those that started at 9:10 a.m. will be dismissed at 1:00 p.m.
All after school activities are cancelled. No word yet on tonight's school board meeting.
UPDATE: Tonight's school board meeting has been cancelled.
29 Comments:
Bad SLPS. Most county district that don't have the mobility issues this district had canceled school today. Terrible board, they aren't concerned about safety.
2/13/2007 9:55 AM
Or, they are concerned with kids eating. With the great number of our kids who get free breakfast and lunch at school, cancelling school means cancelling breakfast and lunch.
2/13/2007 11:36 AM
Good point.
2/13/2007 11:48 AM
Perhaps, too, there are hourly (not salaried) employees represented by Local 420 who won't get paid if school is cancelled. Ditto for favored contractors like school-bus providers and the companies that sell those free breakfasts and lunches.
The main purpose of the school district is to pass out financial goodies. Education of the children is secondary at best.
2/13/2007 1:11 PM
So you're saying that if the hourly employees were getting paid anyway, they would cancel school and not care if the kids ate or not? That's a pretty strong statement and I don't believe you. And I'm not an employee. If there were concerned about them getting in the hours they would have kept the kids all day instead of dismissing them right after they got lunch.
2/13/2007 1:28 PM
Hey guys, I just got back, and it's treacherous out there. The district is being responsible for the safety of the children. Knock it off!
2/13/2007 1:31 PM
Cancelling school is a big deal and it puts a huge burden on working parents. A2 is right about the meals, too.
And it isn't as if most of the students wouldn't benefit from the instruction time.
Too bad it actually snowed.
2/13/2007 1:34 PM
Yes, calling off school today was the responsible thing to do. What was irresponsible was not calling it off before school started, like virtually all of the other districts. The children were at risk traveling to and from school in this weather.
2/13/2007 1:40 PM
My Buick is de facto a plow, therefore the snow was not a problem. Those who do not have a land yacht are in trouble. Cancelling school is about public safety. Why is this an issue?
2/13/2007 1:40 PM
It's about more than just cancelling class. Is it possible the Superintendent was keeping class in session just so the teachers get paid???????????? I doubt it. There are a lot of people that work for the district that don't belong to 420. There are a lot of items taken into consideration before one just cancels class.
It's about who's going to take care of the kids if school is cancelled? Inner city Mom doesn't have the luxury of being able to call in since the busses are running and they don't get paid for not showing at work (or get threatened with disciplinary action).
It's about making sure the children get fed a breakfast and lunch when most of the inner families don't have much food for the table.
It's about making up the day later in the school year.
It's about providing a safe environment for the kids.
The district is damned if they do and damned if they don't. Cut them some slack.
Maurice
School Board candidate
2/13/2007 2:34 PM
school buses are safer than you driving to work in your tiny car.
2/13/2007 2:59 PM
Cin said: Does that mean the kids out on the streets without supervision are safer too?
2/13/2007 3:08 PM
Just a heads up...some schools did not cancel at all. Some of those schools do not provide free transportation and parents have to figure out a way to pick up and find care when most the time the student will walk home.
It is up to the district to make a decision about timing to get the kids home safely once the weather started to turn. When classes started it was only raining.
It is up to the parents to ensure their children are being cared for when school has a snow day (we live in an area that has snow--this is a yearly thing) and every parent regardless of city or county has to deal with it.
I had to leave work and miss pay, or find a sitter on snow days many times. This is part of parenting, when a person decides to have a child, they decide to deal with this stuff and to be responsible for keeping their own children safe and off the streets when school is called for weather.
Until you are the one that has to make the decision about to call school off and deal with people being critical you that decision one way or other...just accept that snow days happen.
2/13/2007 3:28 PM
Oh yeah,
In my post above..starting with some schools did not close at all...
I was a single parent that lost wages, was threatened with write ups, was written up, lost jobs over taken care of my kids. We did live the life of nearly being homeless.
As stated above, when you choose to have a child, it means dealing with parents issues, regarless of where you live, what school district you are in, and a number of other concerns that may be raised on these posts. At the end of the day a parent is the only final responsible person for the children they choose to have.
2/13/2007 3:35 PM
Now, that's the spirit: parents being responsible for the safety of their children! What a unique idea.
2/13/2007 3:36 PM
At the end of the day a parent is the only final responsible person for the children they choose to have.
That's the theory. The practice is that schools, neighbors, grandmothers, City Hall, rec centers, pastors, the police, and total strangers had better lend a hand when they can.
2/13/2007 4:03 PM
True, sadly
I guess we should have expected the school to set up a motel/hotel service since it snowed. This would have allowed the parents of the children to not have to deal with it at all. The school should have added snacks and dinner to the meals, should have set up individual rooms with bedding and toys, got out buy meds that may ne needed, make sure sibs were together at one location and have plenty of TV choices or wait maybe they should have had staff stay and teach overnight and until the winter is over.
2/13/2007 4:08 PM
Arent' "snow days" built into the schedule, and if not, then aren't make-up days tacked on to the school year?
2/13/2007 5:04 PM
Snow days are no longer built into the schedule. Yes, they are made up at the end of the year. I don't know if we have to make up 3 hours now.
2/13/2007 5:29 PM
R6111
ST. LOUIS BOARD OF EDUCATION REGULATION
INSTRUCTION
ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE AND SECONDARY
Schedules
School Calendar
During the second semester of each school year, the superintendent shall recommend to the Board of Education for its approval a school calendar as specified by state law. The calendar shall provide for legal holidays, teacher training, parent conference days, record keeping days for elementary and middle schools, winter and spring breaks, and state teacher's meetings in alternate years.
The school calendar may be altered due to unusual circumstances such as heavy snow, extreme icing, or major curtailment of transportation. When conditions such as these occur, the superintendent shall recommend to the Board of Education the closing of schools and/or offices. This action may necessitate scheduling make up days to meet the state attendance requirements.
References
Legal: Sections 171.031, 171.033, 171.051 RSMo.
Three hours of school should meet state/fed regulations of a school day. That information may be able to be found on the DESE website.
2/13/2007 5:53 PM
As a child, there is nothing better than to read and see that parents are being responsible. I drive to school everyday and today my mom left work when she saw that school was getting out early and made sure I did not drive. Sometimes we have to take chances. If district officials knew that meteorologist were predicting this storm.. why not take the chance and cancel school.
I understand what every blogger on this site wrote. What about food when almost 90 percent of students get free lunch? What about the parents that can't leave work and get their kids? What about the kids that walk home?
If you really think about this we must put more pressure on our government and actually make it government for the people. We should have Rec Centers and cots at school and hotel rooms on reserve for days like this. How many kids do you think are at home with no heat? And because of our Governor whom decided to cut Medicare, do you think those kids with no heat can go to the hospital to get treatment for hyperthermia?
Like Sen. Obama said.. "The time is now America, DESTINY is calling"
Issues and concerns like the ones posted on this website makes me want to be a public servant..."I want to fight poverty and ignorance and give opportunity and hope to those locked out."
Hopefully DESE won't take democracy from us but give us a chance to rectify our current state of government. Too much of the same stuff is being repeated... We are doing this, we are doing that... Where is it I want to see it!!! I want to see change before 08. I'm trying to help. I have come up with a lot of ideas as far as tougher consequences for students and creative learning environments, taking us outside the classroom and school, seeing the things that we are "studying" up close and in person. My ideas have been heard but when will they be implemented? The time is now!!!!
"Yes WE Can!!!"
"DESTINY is calling!!!"
2/13/2007 6:41 PM
Sean-
Couple of questions for you-
Do you realize that the programs you are suggesting from government for cots, hotel rooms and such are paid for by the everyday worker, that would take more money out of already tight paychecks?
Do you know what DESE is? You refer to it as you hope it won't take democracy from us but give us a chance to rectify our current state of government. Please explain what you mean by this.
2/13/2007 8:26 PM
Well damn! You just can't please folks no matter what. You guys sound like the schools are supposed to be a social service agency. It is a school. Its primarily responsibility is to educate children and ensure their saftey to and from school. We add breakfast and lunch because hungry children do worse in school. The things you ask for are the function of parents and government. A good deal of the problems that are taking place with the schools now is because folks expect the school to take care of all the other social service needs. Then, they are not able to focus on education. Let's not blame the schools for poverty and no heat.
2/13/2007 9:13 PM
Well I actually think it's none of the above. When I heard that Clayton didn't have school and they hardly EVER cancel classes, I knew they would have us go and work half a day. Why? Because having the kids there for half a day I believe still gets us reimbursement. And heaven knows we need the money. Also, I believe that very few Superintendents make the decision to cancel classes entirely by themselves--nowadays it's the transportation company who is guided by their insurance company as to the liability! So we already have 1 snow day to make up, and I expect to see 1.5 days less on my final paycheck. Goes with the job, NOT 420!!!
2/13/2007 9:37 PM
mega dittos. the PARENTS had the children--it is not the school districts job to raise the children. let the parent's share a little responsibility the way I did it with my eight kids
2/14/2007 8:07 AM
This was solely a financial decision. If schools were open for a minimum of four hours and lunch was served we receive funding for the day. This district cannot afford to lose a day of funding.
Yes, many of our students have to be in school in order to eat for the day, and yes it would have been an inconvenience for parents to plan for children to be home for the day. However, it is a bigger inconvenience for parents to have to worry half-way through the day about getting through the weather that had turned ugly to either pick-up or be there for their children. Not to mention to 4000 employees who had to drive thru the mess.
The weather forecast did not change between 10pm and the next morning. This was the district's mistake.
2/14/2007 10:10 AM
And we all know that our local weather forecasts are 100% accurate when they predict massive snowfalls. . .
C'mon. This is a tough decision that has all sorts of different factors to consider. Are some of them financial? Probably. So what?
We'd rather the school district be fiscally irresponsible and give up a day's worth of funding on the basis of a weather forecast?
Are some kids better off at school than they would be if school hadn't been cancelled? Sure. It's an urban school district with many single parents and parents who work two jobs for whom it is difficult and/or expensive to take off work. Why would it be such a crime for the SLPS to consider that?
Reading some of the comments on here made me thing I was sitting in on a Post-Dispatch editorial board meeting.
Sincerely,
An SLPS parent
2/14/2007 10:23 AM
Thank you, parent above, from another parent. I can't believe with everything going on this is an issue that gets this much attention. The kids went to school when it was just raining, got in some class time, and came home. At least employers can understand a little better that parents have to leave early when the weather is actually bad, rather than having us calling in on days when nothing happens because school got cancelled and all it does is rain. I'm glad the district got in some time, I'm glad all the kids got their meals. How about everyone put all this energy expended on this non-issue into volunteering in the closest school to them. That would be a positive.
2/14/2007 10:48 AM
Let's talk about attendance TODAY, the day AFTER. I never had even CLOSE to 50% attendance in any one of my classes. In some classes, I was lucky to have 20-30% The district lost money today BIG time. And because it is a benchmark testing day/week, instructional time is very limited because these tests have to be given and I will have to give the tests again tomorrow and can't move on to new material. So if all my students come tomorrow (not likely) or IF all the buses transport all the children, then I could MAYBE start with new material on FRIDAY, but of course then there is the 3 day weekend and it's never a good idea to start brand new material before that long of a weekend..........so in other words, best laid plans. Just wish Mother Nature had worked with the curriculum gurus to plan better! Silly Girl
2/14/2007 2:38 PM
Post a Comment
<< Home