CPS To Make Up Snow Day Next Friday
UPDATED 02/04/11 2:15 p.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Chicago Public Schools students might have been elated to get two days off because of the blizzard, but they'll have to give one of those days back next week.
Next Friday was supposed to be a school holiday in honor of Abraham Lincoln's birthday, but now Chicago Public Schools will use that day to make up one of the two snow days that they took for the blizzard, according to Chicago Public Schools spokeswoman Monique Bond.
As CBS 2's Susanna Song reports, Chicago Public Schools reopened on Friday, after taking snow days on Wednesday and Thursday due to the blizzard, although school bus service was on hold until Monday.
CPS Interim Chief Executive Officer Terry Mazany said he was impressed with the turnout.
"We're very pleased that we've already seen over 70 percent of our teachers able to report to work here, so that does mean that we're able to provide a full instructional day," Mazany said at a news conference at the city's 911 Center. "On my way over here, I stopped at a high school. They had 90 percent of teachers and 90 percent of their students in attendance."
Mazany said the city's efforts to clean up the streets after the blizzard on Tuesday and Wednesday were "simply extraordinary."
But he said students who missed school Friday will not suffer any consequences.
"No student will be penalized for a missed day today," Mazany said, adding that absences Friday also will not affect perfect attendance streaks at schools.
At Nettelhorst Elementary School, at 3252 N. Broadway in the East Lakeview neighborhood, 4-year-old pre-schooler Peter Schanzenbach was quite the trouper. He headed through the door with his dad, despite the unfavorable conditions.
The walk was short, but still difficult.
"He slipped a couple of times," said Peter's dad, Max Schanzenbach. "But that's OK." Peter also remembered to put his gloves on.
"They could have done a little bit better job with the sidewalks, but the streets are OK," Max Schanzenbach said. "I don't want him at home another – two days in a row is enough."
School maintenance workers were out all morning salting and shoveling the sidewalks outside the building, so kids and their parents wouldn't slip.
"It was, like, a little bumpy and a little hard to walk," first-grader Jaiden Leonard said. But she remembered to wear her boots.
"We hang onto each other, so we're fine," Jaiden's mother said.
An older girl who attends Nettelhorst added, "There was a lot more sludge that you had to trudge through."
"It's a lot harder to walk here, but it's more fun," a boy said.
The conditions had improved since the wee hours. CBS 2 spent the morning on Roscoe Street, just about a block north of Nettelhorst Elementary School, at 3252 N. Broadway in the East Lakeview neighborhood. As side streets go, this particular stretch of Roscoe Street is a fairly busy one, connecting Halsted Street and Broadway.
Still, the street was in rough shape, with heaps of snow piled on the sidewalks.
Some drivers tried to pull out on the block Friday morning, but failed.
Along with more than 400,000 Chicago students who were expected to return to class, thousands of Chicago teachers had to figure out a way to get to work.
"I got an e-mail last night, and they'd heard from half the staff," said teacher Lauren Holmes. "Half was able to make it, and we don't know about the other half."
Meanwhile, busing remains suspended until Monday. Of about 400,000 CPS students, about 24,000 are bused to school every day, "and it's important that we have clear and safe passage for them," Mazany said Thursday.
Many of the pupils who are bused are special education students, who require special lifts or transportation that is not possible with the level of snow now on the ground, Mazany said.
But the schools say they have an open-door policy. Students can be dropped off at any school closest to their house.
"They told us to go to the closest school that's nearby. I don't know if that's an ideal situation," said James Green, a CPS father.
The schools are also still suspending interscholastic sports, third-shift preschool, after-school programming and drivers' education on Friday.
But on Saturday, the IHSA wrestling tournament will go on. Bowen and King high schools are both hosting events for the tournament on Saturday.
"We want to make sure that our young athletes have the opportunity to participate in this important tournament," Mazany said.
