Announcements

Dear DPS Community:   

Over the past two days, we have seen strong division within the DPS community about our decision to close schools yesterday and have schools open today, with heavy criticism from some parents, teachers and students. I want to assure everyone that these decisions were taken very seriously and were made after long deliberation and debate. And, most important, they were made with one overriding factor in mind:  the well-being of our students and their families. 

We, of course, are very concerned about the extreme temperatures, and we absolutely respect the judgment of parents who feel that their kids should be kept out of the cold weather. As a result, we modified our attendance policy for today and excused all weather-related absences for families who didn't feel comfortable sending their children to school and could make arrangements for them to be home for a second straight day. 

Equally important in making our decision was the consideration for the thousands of our families of working parents who are on moderate incomes, have few to no child-care options, don't get paid days off from their jobs, and therefore face a huge burden when schools are closed for a second day, while private-sector and other public-sector employers are open. 

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. 

We consider our schools to be learning centers as well as community centers where children and families can get help with health and other social-service needs. And we feel an obligation to the public we serve to keep our schools open as much as possible. 

After dangerously snowy and icy road conditions on Tuesday morning, we saw improvements in road and traffic conditions for Wednesday and believed that our students would be able to get to and from school safely both on district transportation and with their families. We felt confident our buses were prepared to make their routes, although we are very aware of the potential for some traffic and weather-related delays. And we simply felt that keeping vitally important, publicly funded facilities closed to the public for two consecutive days would be a disservice to our families in need and to our community as a whole. 

Best,

Tom