No excuses, Seattle kids, stay in school.
As the Emerald City prepares to celebrate its Super Bowl LX-champion Seattle Seahawks with Wednesday’s championship parade, the Seattle Public Schools District announced Monday that its schools will remain open and “parade attendance will not be considered an excused absence.”
“As the city plans celebrations, including a victory parade planned for Wednesday, Feb. 11, at 10 a.m., we want families to know that Seattle Public Schools will remain open with the normal early-release Wednesday schedule,” the district’s release read, in part, signed by the SPS chief operating officer, Fred Podesta.
Seattle Public Schools includes elementary, K-8, middle schools and high schools with the Wednesday early release ranging from 1:10 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., according to the district website’s bell schedules page.
Skipping class will be recorded as an “unexcused absence,” with Podesta underscoring that keeping schools open is crucial for students maintaining “stability, safety, and continuity.”
In each of the past three years, multiple schools and districts were closed on Super Bowl parade days for the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs.
Seattle defeated the New England Patriots, 29-13, on Sunday in Santa Clara, California, to win the franchise’s second Super Bowl with running back Kenneth Walker III voted Super Bowl MVP.
The Seahawks World Champions Parade will take place at 10 a.m. PT Wednesday.
It’s set to start with a trophy celebration at Lumen Field, followed by a parade along 4th Ave. in downtown Seattle at 11 a.m.
The Lumen Field event open to the public and free, but tickets are required.
“This year’s Seahawks team brought all of Seattle together with the strongest, loudest, and most united spirit I’ve ever seen,” Seattle Mayor Katie B. Wilson said in Monday’s release. “And [Sunday], they delivered in historic fashion, beating the Patriots and bringing a second Lombardi Trophy home to Seattle. Now it’s time to celebrate. I’m looking forward to the parade this week, and I encourage everyone to come out and join the celebration — responsibly, together, and with pride.”
