Dive Brief:
- District in Alexandria, VA, Chapel Hill-Carrboro, NC, and Prince George's County, MD are closed today because the number of staff absences expected for the “Day Without a Woman” were so high district officials did not think they could cover all classes.
- Time reports more than 300 staff members requested the day off in Alexandria and in Chapel Hill-Carrboro, where 75% of the district’s staff is female, expected absences were too many to overcome. In Prince George's County, approximately 1,700 teachers and 30% of transportation staff requested leave.
- Each district made clear it was not endorsing the “Day Without a Woman” protests and instead was closing schools because of the logistical challenges of dealing with so many staff absences. Select schools still opened for breakfast and lunch, realizing for some students, school meals might be all they eat that day.
Dive Insight:
School districts around the country already have trouble finding enough substitute teachers to fill in for teacher absences on a normal day. The “Day Without a Woman” protests, modeled after the “Day Without Immigrants” February 16, created an unsurprisingly insurmountable challenge for some schools. In Los Angeles Unified School District, officials pleaded with immigrant teachers and students to come to class instead of joining the February protest.
School district responses to these protests have to be carefully calibrated with an eye toward school climate. Women, like immigrants, have felt marginalized and attacked throughout the recent presidential campaign and in the first months of Donald Trump’s presidency. Many schools, even while urging students and teachers to come to school despite protests, have taken pains to make sure these individuals also feel like a valued part of the school community.