Schools Still In Session, But In The Dark
Published: February 12, 2009
Updated: February 12, 2009
COLUMBUS, Ohio—A storm of high winds toppled trees and caused power outages around Central Ohio, leaving some schools without power Wednesday night.
But not every district without power canceled class Thursday.
A viewer wrote to NBC 4 asking why Columbus City Schools held classes in buildings that were left in the dark after the storm.
“Our lights are out because of the power outages. So basically all the kids are in the gym conversing, things of that sort,“ said Candace Milner, an Eastmoor Academy High School freshman.
Milner spent a half-day of class in the dark, and it was a similar story for other schools.
Buckeye Middle, Cedarwood Elementary and A.G. Bell schools were all in the dark Thursday.
Jeff Warner with Columbus City Schools said that four of its 128 buildings are without power, and another six only had partial power. But school went on.
One of the questions raised by parents: Are kids safe in a school without power?
“They are. We do have security lighting in our schools. We also have 911 service and obviously many of our staff members have cell phones,“ Warner said.
Another question: How much are kids really learning in a dark classroom?
“A lot of people are in the gym playing basketball. Earlier, we were all playing group games,“ Milner said.
“If we don’t have power in our school, it’s likely there’s not power in the neighborhood as well. So it’s probably safer for kids to be at school where they’re monitored, than to potentially be at home by themselves without power,“ Warner said.
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Reader Reactions
This is exactly what I have against calamity days/required school days. Schools are so worried about missing too many days they go when they shouldn’t, and those that do miss too many days and have to make them up just spend the days marking time. The kids are usually watching movies or playing games all just because the federal government says our kids need to go an x amount of days each year. These kids were not being taught anything they were just being babysat by a highly paid sitter just so they would have one less calamity day. This outdated method of calamity days and required school days needs to be fixed. I think that as long as the kids have accomplished the years courses and testing then the amount of calamity days should not affect them at all.
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