Media:
I don't mean to be an antagonist (I really don't) but I have received a number of inquiries today regarding PSD150 and their decision to remain open.
From the accounts I have received from just 3 schools, there are over 1,000 students out because of the weather. Many other organizations have closed today also and most private schools that I am aware of (I could be wrong however). Can anyone inquire as to Dist. 150's rationale and treatment of our students regarding this matter?
I took mine late, only because the Dist was open and after quite a workout (which I can use) shoveling snow. In the inner city many of the kids have to walk to school and catch buses and the streets are a work in progress.
I don't necessarily want to push the issue but I think we need to know what the District's thoughts are regarding our children. Are they concerned?
Pastor Harvey Burnett
7 comments:
Um... guess I am coming from a different direction. I don't understand why schools were closed. Excessively cold? nope.
Excessively windy? nope.
Unmanageable snowfall? nope.
Why exactly were some schools closed again? It wasn't a surprise snowfall. I got up early and had my driveway cleared so my wife could get to work (which wasn't closed). I knew last night when I went to bed that I needed to get up and shovel.
Remember the cry that went up when teachers were planning to strike today--how parents wouldn't be able to find sitters, etc. That is also one of the reasons 150 is so reluctant to close schools. It's easy for me to say now because the best part of winter is that I don't have to go to work. Instead two children arrived at my house while their mother went all the way to Pioneer Parkway to bowl at 9 a.m. I usually make that trip with her and the kids, but I decided today would be a good day to stay in. Had I been teaching, I certainly would have been complaining that school wasn't cancelled--driving on snow has always been a trial for me. I know what you mean about the parking lots. I was always the first person in the Manual parking lot--and I usually beat the snowplows. You bring up some very bad memories of snow.
For my children, at least, going to school today was a waste of time. Half of my fourth-grader's class was absent, so the teacher decided not to teach anything today because she'd just have to reteach it all again tomorrow and there would be too much make-up work. So they colored and watched movies, including such educational films as "Alvin and the Chipmunks." Waste. Of. Time. I would have rather they had called a snow day, so at least another day of school would have been added to the end of the year.
Funny you should say that C.J. the exact same thing happend in my fourth graders class, sans the Alvin and the Chipmunks. They did spend about 20 minutes "reading".
Our school called the families and asked if the kids were out because of the weather. When I replied "yes" they said good, because they were giving everyone a pass and not marking them absent. This is, I presume, to continue to collect the daily allotted funds per child per day they are in school plus they don't have to pay teachers for a make up day. Seems kind of like a scam to me. Its always $$ where Peoria Schools are concerned. Child welfare be damned.
Pastor Burnett asked if District 150 was concerned about the children... that's a no brainer. Butts in the seats mean money money money from the state. Of course they are concerned about the children.
People complain if school is closed or if it remains open. If I'm correct, I believe that just a few weeks ago parents were UP IN ARMS that teachers might strike, thus having NO WHERE for their children to go. Parents have the option of keeping their children home if they feel it were too dangerous to send them to school. That is why they are called PARENTS.
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