“hoping other educators, families and community members can help us call on DCPS to make 2 hour delay or school cancellations by 7:00 PM”

photo by Adam Fagen

“Dear PoPville,

I’m a DCPS educator in Columbia Heights, where the side streets, alleys, and sidewalks are still icy and largely uncleared from yesterday’s storm. As per usual, there’s no word on what tomorrow will hold for teachers and students.

I’m hoping other educators, families and community members can help us call on DCPS to make 2 hour delay or school cancellations by 7:00 PM so parents and educators can plan childcare and commutes instead of scrambling at dawn.

Parents and community members:

if you care about safety and common sense, please support DCPS educators and speak up. We need your support to get to work safely this week!

More info here.”

‘Ensure Safe Commutes to Schools BEFORE reopening after snow

Snow removal efforts are often inequitable. DCPS does not have a robust bussing system, leaving our students and staff in a dangerous situation when attempting to commute to school. Many of our students walk and take public transportation. It creates additional stress when decisions around reopening are constantly made after educators go to sleep, making it very hard to plan.

Most of DC Public Schools’ educators do not live in the District. When DCPS reopens, despite all the surrounding counties being closed, it creates significant hardship on the staff in regards to child care and safe transport. WTU Members only get 12 days of leave each school year, so it is very burdensome to be forced to use it for weather related events. This creates additional burdens on schools, who ultimately may not have enough staff to be safely operational.

DCPS needs to make the call for a snow day based on a realistic understanding of the conditions and the safety of the students, staff and community. Our educators understand the importance of students being in school, but we must ensure that everyone is able to safely arrive.’