Oklahoma parents, school officials react to weather in different ways
With ice on roadways this week, many school districts canceled classes for multiple days. But now school is back in session for nearly everyone. Here’s a look at the situation:
Cheyenne Middle School’s seventh grade math teachers Rocky Bargas and Renee Gruntmeir, from left, work on planning during the snow day Thursday. Photo BY CHRIS LANDSBERGER, THE OKLAHOMAN
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AT A GLANCE
Deciding
ON CLOSURE
Area school officials use several factors when deciding whether to close school. "It’s all safety driven,” said Bret Towne, associate superintendent for Edmond schools.
Towne said Edmond administrators take empty buses through routes to see whether they can run buses. They also look at the condition of sidewalks and parking lots.
Putnam City administrators use similar factors, said Steve Lindley, district spokesman. Superintendent Paul Hurst and administrators watch weather reports and talk to city and state authorities about conditions. They also drive across most of the district’s 42-square-mile area.
Hurst makes the decision after considering several factors, not just road conditions, Lindley said. Factors can include temperature and potential damage to school buildings.
Oklahoma City schools spokeswoman Tierney Cook said administrators speak with other districts and talk with the city about which streets have been salted or sanded. Then all the information is presented to Superintendent Karl Springer.
The kids
After a third day with four children in her rural home near Little Axe, Debbie Self was ready to get out Thursday.
"The kids are just stir-crazy,” Self said. "It’s just hard to keep all four of them in the house.”
Self, a language arts teacher at Belle Isle Enterprise Middle School in Oklahoma City, scrambled to get her classes covered Monday when her children were let out of school early. Because classes were canceled in both her district and her children’s, she stayed home Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. During their days at home, the children played outside as much as possible, but by Thursday, Self said, she was ready to take them on an outing.
The principal
Brian Chastain, principal of Putnam City North High School, said he didn’t expect lost time to cause many problems.
Related Topics:
Weather, Winter Weather, Education, Elementary and High School Education, K-12 Funding and Administration
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