While multiple suburban districts are waiting until this afternoon to decide whether dangerously cold temperatures will force them to close schools tomorrow, the Chicago Teachers Union today criticized the decision by Chicago Public Schools to open their schools Monday.
'Right now, CPS and the City of Chicago's Office of Emergency Management are sending confusing and mixed messages to the public about what to do,' said CTU President Karen Lewis in an e-mailed statement. 'We believe common sense would dictate that CPS should close schools with at least 10 inches of snow already on the ground and a record-breaking low temperature of -10 degrees forecast for Monday.'
The statement 'demanded that Chicago Public Schools demonstrate concern for the health and safety of children and staff by closing its 600+ school buildings on Monday, January 6, 2014.'
Several suburban school districts will announce this afternoon whether they will keep schools open tomorrow. School officials in Deerfield, Highland Park, Romeoville, Batavia and other Chicago suburbs have already decided to close all district schools on Monday.
'The National Weather Service has indicated that any outside activity will be dangerous,' southwest suburban Valley View Community Unit School District 365U Superintendent James Mitchem said in a statement Sunday. 'With roughly 11,000 children waiting for buses in this district and thousands of others walking to school every day, I cannot, in good conscience, put even one child at risk when the missed day can easily be made up at the end of the school year.'
Northwestern University will also be closed because of severe weather, officials said today. All classes will be canceled and libraries and offices will be closed on both the Evanston and Chicago campuses, officials said.
Others, including D istrict 203 in Naperville and District 41 in Glen Ellyn, have said they would continue to monitor the weather through Sunday afternoon before making a decision.
In Chicago, parents have the option of keeping their children home from school. CPS officials have said that if a parent calls in to notify their child will not be attending, the student's absence will be excused.
A full list of school closings is available on the WGN Radio Emergency Closing Center.
Posted by Unknown on Sunday, January 5, 2014 - Rating: 4.5
0 comments "CPS decides to shut down city schools Monday"
Post a Comment