CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) was supposed to be open on Wednesday, but parents say a "last-minute" decision to cancel left families struggling to find accommodations or rearrange their day.
CMSD students have been on a mini winter break for the last week, and understandably so, as temperatures have remained frigid and snowfall has been consistent.
CMSD families got a text Tuesday night that all facilities were expected to be open on Wednesday.
"If conditions change, we will communicate in the morning," the text reads.
Additionally, an email went out to all families saying if a closure becomes necessary, the decision will be made at 5 a.m. and communicated through district channels.
The time came and went, and with no word on any closures, parents assumed everything was good to go.
A CMSD parent and employee who asked not be identified for fear of retaliation told me it wasn't until almost an hour later that she received word that school was canceled for the day.
"5:57 a.m. is when we got the call. However, my daughter is on Instagram and came running down the stairs and said, ‘Mom, we have no school. ’ And that was five minutes before the call even got sent out to the parents and, or the staff knew," she said.
She said she's frustrated that social media seemed to be the go-to for initial closure communication.
"I feel like social media shouldn't be the first place to go and notify people. I mean, me personally, I'm not on social media at six o'clock in the morning. Maybe sometimes if I feel like it when I wake up and I want to look at my notifications from the night before and see what I missed, but that's not my first go-to at six o'clock in the morning to find out if my kids have school," she said.
While the only inconvenience for her family was not being able to sleep in, she said her sister, who is also a CMSD parent, was unable to stay home on such late notice.
"I had to go pick up lunch for my niece and my nephew today because she had to go to work and she had nobody to watch her youngest. Her oldest child had to watch. Between her oldest and her middle child, they had to take turns because the oldest had to go to work also. That's not fair to her as a working mom, a single mom having to find arrangements," she told me.
For Jennifer Murphy, another CMSD parent, she said she's happy with the district's decision to keep her kids out of the cold, but thinks Wednesday's cancellation could've been handled better.
"[I feel] very discouraged. Riverside [Elementary] is right across the street, so it doesn't affect me like most kids, but it did cross my mind that some of these kids still take the RTA. They have to go stand outside. It's not just the bus stops," Murphy said. "People were already at work. They've changed their life to do whatever they have to do and they're trying to be there and yet they're at work, and then they get the message that everything's closed."
Some families were reportedly already making the trek on foot to school when classes were canceled, according to Murphy.
Murphy said on her way to work shortly after 9 a.m. that she spotted a father and his daughter walking through the snow from Riverside Elementary.
"We live in an urban area. Not every kid has everything. The little girl was just in tennis shoes, didn't have boots, and they were walking. She had a little pea coat on. Those aren't made like they used to be. They're still cold. I offered them a ride and they happen to live around the corner," Murphy said.
She said the father she picked up didn't have the district-wide app on his phone that provides updates on school closures.
"They didn't speak very good English. It was pretty broken, so we communicated the best that we could," Murphy said.
Regardless, both Murphy and the CMSD employee we talked to are now wondering why the families weren't notified sooner of closures.
I asked CMSD about it on Wednesday.
Deciding whether to close schools is never simple, and as the largest school district in the region, we must consider a larger geography and population than others. But it is always based on our best determination of whether it will be safe for students and staff to travel. We make the best decision we can with the most accurate information available at the time. Each weather event is different, and predicting its exact impact can be challenging. We carefully and continually monitor a range of factors—including temperature and wind chill, snowfall amounts, road and sidewalk conditions, and the timing of storms, and we stay in close contact with our local governments, transportation partners, and other area school districts.
Murphy said not only does she want better communication moving forward, but also more educational opportunities for families when downloading district communication channels.
"Maybe do some sort of fair where if they don't know how to download the app, let them come in and download. Let them come in and learn. Have a resource fair. They have a resource fair on the 31st for other stuff. Offer that as an option," Murphy said.
The CMSD employee/parent I spoke with on Wednesday said more consideration should be given to parents who need to make accommodations for their kids.
"Care about your staff. Care about your students. Care about their safety. It's not fair to the parents that have to struggle to find accommodations and some of us don't have that. Some of us are single parents. Some of us don't have vehicles," she said.
CMSD is expected to be back in session Thursday morning.
A message to parents was sent Wednesday night regarding classes.
Dear CMSD Families,
We hope you and your loved ones are doing well and staying safe after several days of challenging winter weather. We know that consecutive snow days can disrupt routines, and we want to thank you for your patience and understanding as we prioritize student and staff safety.
CMSD schools will be open tomorrow, and we are eager to welcome students back into their classrooms and daily routines. Returning to school helps restore consistency and connection, both of which are essential for student learning and well‑being.
We know tomorrow will still be cold so please ensure your child is dressed warmly and bundled for the day. We respect each parent and guardian’s judgment in making the best decisions for their child. If your student will be absent, please be sure to notify your school.
To support safe arrivals and dismissals, we are working closely with the City to increase patrols around school buildings, helping ensure students feel supported every step of the way. Your child’s safety remains our highest priority. Out of an abundance of caution, we have asked our bus drivers to take extra care on the roads, so some pick‑ups may be slightly delayed.
Thank you for your continued partnership and for all you do to support your students’ success. We look forward to seeing our scholars back in school tomorrow.
Murphy said she's not sure if she'll send her kids to school on Thursday due to health issues amplified by the cold weather and longer-than-normal wait times to get into the school.
She hopes the school will allow for excused absences for the time being.
As for the CMSD employee/parent I talked to, she said her kids will go to school.
Right now, her kids ride the school bus, but next year, she'll have to drive her daughter to school as a bus ride is not an option.
She fears that if another winter storm like the one we've been experiencing hits next year, driving to school will be a challenge.
"We've had a water main break on our street. Not only on our street, but the adjacent street that runs parallel to this street for the last three to four weeks. People have been out, but they have not fixed the problem," she said. "The ice buildup was so treacherous that I had to get pulled out of my own driveway just to make it to work."
She said her residential roads have been plowed by the city, but she's frustrated that all of the snow is being pushed into her driveway, making it impossible for her to get out without getting stuck.
"I appreciate them plowing the roads. I wholeheartedly do. But they're plowing our aprons in. It took me an extra push. I had to go forward twice just to push into my driveway, and I shouldn't have to deal with that because they want to keep coming down, plowing us in," she told me.
She's hoping that not only is there a change in the way CMSD moves about school closures, but also how Cleveland plows its roads.
