District 204 disregards the safety of their students during Wednesday’s snowstorm
District 204 should take advice from many different sources and come up with a better plan to keep students and staff safe during adverse weather conditions.
February 4, 2022
I woke up to check Twitter on Wednesday, in hopes that 204 came to their senses and chose to cancel school due to the massive snowstorm that was hitting us.
Instead I woke up to a tweet which read, “Student drivers-be safe driving to school this morning!”
While I was expecting to see a tweet telling us to stay home and stay safe, instead we got bombarded by a passive aggressive tweet from our very own district.
If you are not aware of Wednesday’s weather conditions because you were too busy relaxing in your home, let me tell you what us students and staff had to endure that morning. On the drive to school I noticed backed up traffic, cars stuck in snow banks, multiple fender benders, and 15 mile per hour driving. In classes only about 10-15 students were in each class.
I wonder why we had fewer students in attendance. It is almost like we were in the midst of a winter storm.
I have a question for the district: Did you ever consider the possibility that it would snow all day and not just in the morning?
As I looked out the window in class, snow was still falling down at heavy rates. I worried about the safety of students and staff as they leave the school, especially with the already awful nature of the parking lot even on a normal day.
On the District 204 website, they state what aspects affect their decision on closing the school, one point states: “Changes to the weather forecast during the course of the school day that indicates if conditions will improve or worsen.”
It was pretty obvious conditions would get worse during the day. The weather service even said conditions would worsen. Snow continued to fall and snow plows struggled to keep up with the amount of snow.
The National Weather Service issued a warning telling people not to drive today and to stay home if possible. I am not sure if the district is aware of their own E-learning that they put into place for days like Wednesday. A day with deadly conditions would have been the perfect time to try out the new E-learning plan.
The district needs to take a lesson on deciding when it is appropriate to cancel school and what severe weather conditions look like. Instead of using your own judgment you should take the advice from people above you such as the Aurora Police Department, National Weather Service, and the Governor of the state.
It is clear that the district needs to work on their communication skills as well as their judgment skills when deciding when to send kids to school. The tweet that was sent out on Wednesday showed extreme lack of empathy and remorse.
Hiding from your mistakes will not make them go away. Address your mistakes and do better.
Georgie • Feb 7, 2022 at 8:37 pm
wowzers!
Beth • Feb 6, 2022 at 3:52 pm
Agreed!!!!!!
Mindy S • Feb 5, 2022 at 11:36 am
Awesome article! Well said.
Linda • Feb 5, 2022 at 10:28 am
Well said. The arrogance of district administration to assume they knew best put staff and students in harms way. And to what end? With only half the student body in attendance, the learning they prioritized over safety was interrupted anyway. Keep using your voice and gift for writing to speak the truth.
L Reed • Feb 5, 2022 at 9:58 am
I work for the district and it was a pointless day to be in school. There weren’t enough kids in class to move ahead. It ended up being a “work” day in every class. Driving was treacherous, and the feeling from the staff was downhearted. This year is already so difficult. Had the district chosen safety on Wednesday, it’s my belief the kids would have had a better education as teachers had e learning plans in order. Instead it was a filler “work” day and disgruntled staff. Please do better in the future 204. Also, please no more demeaning emails from the superintendent. Thank you.