Steve Burns
WMAL.com
ALEXANDRIA – (WMAL) Alexandria Public Schools will be closed on Wednesday, Superintendent Dr. Alvin Crawley announced, thanks to an unprecedented number of staff members requesting the day off.
“It has come to our attention that as of today, more than 300 staff members have requested leave this Wednesday, March 8,” Crawley said in a statement posted to the district’s home page. “Consequently, ACPS has decided to close schools for students for the day. This day will be a teacher work day for ACPS staff.”
Crawley stated the decision is solely based on the district’s ability to cover classrooms and ensure student safety, not on any political positions. Students will not be required to make up the day off thanks to the lack of snow days this winter.
The school system will continue to provide breakfast and lunch for students at select schools.
Another D.C.-area school district is looking at the possibility of closing Wednesday as well. Montgomery County Schools spokeswoman Gboyinde Onijlala tells WMAL they are not seeing any abnormal amounts of leave requests, but they are “monitoring” the situation.
“Our Superintendent, our Chief Operating Officer, they’re all talking about it and looking at the situation,” she said.
Other school districts, including Prince George’s, Loudoun, and Prince William, have denied any plans in the works to close Wednesday.
The full statement from Alexandria Public Schools is below.
Dear ACPS Parents and Guardians,
It has come to our attention that as of today, more than 300 staff members have requested leave this Wednesday, March 8. Given the unusually high number of requests, this may be attributed to the observance of International Women’s Day. This day has also been deemed A Day Without Women. Consequently, ACPS has decided to close schools for students for the day. This day will be a teacher work day for ACPS staff. This is in addition to the teacher work day that is on Friday, March 10.
This is not a decision that was made lightly. We have been closely monitoring requests for leave on March 8, including communicating with school leaders and our education association. The decision is based solely on our ability to provide sufficient staff to cover all our classrooms, and the impact of high staff absenteeism on student safety and delivery of instruction. It is not based on a political stance or position.
Students will not be required to make up this instructional day. As this winter has not seen the usual snow accumulation across the region, we have sufficient days in the calendar to close on Wednesday without adversely affecting the number of teaching days required by the State.
We understand that when schools close there is an impact on families, who may have to find unanticipated childcare. We apologize for this unforeseen burden on parents and thank you for your patience and understanding.
- All Campagna Center Early Childhood Programs (Head Start, Early Head Start) and Campagna Kids After School programs will operate on the normal schedule. Campagna Kids Before School Program will be closed (Samuel Tucker and Polk Elementary School sites).
- All Rec programs at schools will continue to operate as usual.
- All ACPS scheduled after-school activities for March 8 will continue as planned.
ACPS will provide breakfast at 7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. and lunch at 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. at:
- Patrick Henry Elementary School
- Jefferson-Houston School
- Cora Kelly School for Math, Science and Technology
- William Ramsay Elementary School
- Francis C. Hammond Middle School
- T.C. Williams High School
These programs are open to ALL students whether they attend that school or not. If you have questions regarding this decision please email the Office of Communications at news@acps.k12.va.us.
Thank you again for your patience and understanding while we work this through.
Yours sincerely,
Alvin L. Crawley, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
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