Schools Closed Again Tomorrow
Dear students, staff, and families,
We continue to confront many challenges stemming from the last week of weather. Unfortunately, the National Weather Service advises us this weather will continue – more freezing rain overnight, gusts of winds, low temperatures, and additional ice accumulation. And PBOT continues to advise against traveling through tomorrow morning.
We have been able to assess all schools at this point, and most are ready to safely receive students. However, our buses transport roughly a quarter of our students, and they rely on many roads that remain inaccessible from blockages, low wires, and persistent ice. Without predicted temperature increases, many school grounds, parking lots, and sidewalks remain dangerous.
We therefore make the difficult decision to close schools again tomorrow.
There simply are not words to express how disappointed we are about the loss of instructional time. We’ve heard from many of you who share this disappointment and concern, and understand your desire to know how we will make up these hours. Unfortunately, we cannot make concrete plans until we are through with not only this storm, but also the remaining months of potential winter weather. Only then will we have a firm grasp on how many hours have been lost, how that compares to the hours we need, and how we might make those hours up.
We are also aware that these closures have a distinct impact on our middle and high school students who are ending their quarter next week. We are working with principals and will share plans as soon as possible.
Our continued gratitude for our maintenance and facilities teams, and to our transportation team for their work to prepare us to return to school. We wish you continued safety, with power, heat, water, and the ability to stay home.
Sincerely,
Dr. Jon Franco
Chief of Schools
