Alexandria PTA Cites ‘Safety Reasons’ for Closing School for ‘A Day Without a Woman’

ashley.rae | March 8, 2017
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Women across the country have chosen to opt out of going to work today in solidarity with the “A Day Without a Woman” protest -- even teachers. A handful of public school districts have decided to cancel school as a result.

One of the school districts closing down in light of the nationwide feminist protest is Alexandria City Public Schools in the Virginia suburb of Washington, D.C.

MRCTV’s Brittany Hughes reached out to the Alexandria PTA Council about parental concerns over the school closings. Joy Cameron, a representative for the PTA Council, told MRCTV that they could not comment on the matter for “safety reasons”:

"As the decision was made for safety reasons, it would not be appropriate to comment- ‘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 of position.’"

While Cameron cited “safety reasons” as the primary reason for why the schools were closing down, the official statement on the Alexandria City Public Schools website states the reason for the closure is a lack of “sufficient staff.”

The statement reads, “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.”

According to WJLA, an unprecedented 300 teachers requested leave and all of the 16 schools in the Alexandria City school district closed as a result, giving 15,200 kids a day off. 

Other school districts that are closing in light of the women’s strike include the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School District in North Carolina and Prince George’s County Public Schools in Maryland, which also neighbors Washington D.C.

Local news station WTOP reports that 30 percent of the school’s transportation staff and 1,700 teachers requested the day off.

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