Photo from Denverpost.com
Today it is -17 in Denver. This is without windchill. Every school district in the Denver metro area is closed. Except for DPS.
Every morning on the drive to work, I see kids at bus stops wearing jeans and hooded sweatshirts, even on the coldest of days.
DPS sent out the following warning.
“Parents are being reminded to dress students warmly, in heavy layers, limiting skin exposure as much as possible. “
The median family income at my school is less than $35,000. These children don’t exactly have Mountain Hardware Puffies and North Face boots. Look at the picture above and tell me, do these kids look properly dressed for -16?
One of my students walked into class this morning, apologizing for being late. I told him it was no big deal, then asked him how he got here. He walked, obviously. No hat, no gloves. However, he told me he had his hood, so obviously it was no big deal.
Furthermore, in some half-hearted attempt at sympathy, the district has implemented a “modified attendance and tardie policy”, which asks teachers to excuse any absences.
What is the point of being in school? There are five or six kids in every class and our principal told us to modify our lesson plans since we would have so many absences.
From superintendent Tom Boasberg,
“Our schools also serve tens of thousands of children who come from low-income households. Schools are not only are vital places of learning for those students, but they are also in many cases the only place where these students get two free hot meals a day, health care, counseling and support services. We felt it was the right thing to do to give our parents the option of sending their kids to school.”
Oh, so we are just babysitters for parents who don’t have anywhere else to send their kids? Also, how come there is no mention of other low-income districts that are closed? Or the fact that we had a snow day yesterday, and didn’t have to babysit?
Could it be that the district gets some sort of bonus if they don’t reach a threshold of sick days? hmmmm…
