An open letter from Unionville-Chadds Ford School Superintendent John Sanville:
As you probably know, the parade for our World Champion Philadelphia Eagles will be held on Thursday, Feb. 8, starting at 11 a.m. Millions of fans are expected to be there — decked out in green and cheering wildly — to welcome home our gridiron greats. It is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that many fans want to participate in. Having suffered through the two previous Super Bowl games and decades where there was no reason to celebrate, I understand completely.
The Philadelphia School District and several school districts in Delaware County have already announced they will close on Thursday. These are probably wise decisions based on the probability of exceptionally high student absences. I understand that completely, too.
However, here in U-CF, we are not going to hear the parade during recess or have our roads backed up with traffic and parked cars. In fact, in examining past absentee data during large events like this, it is likely the majority of our students and staff will be at school ready to learn and teach. Knowing and understanding we have families who wish to attend the parade or attend school, both options are available to you. Parents who wish to send their children to school – our teachers and staff will be here to welcome you. If a parent wishes to take their child to the parade – have fun – the absence will be excused.
To be clear, I am not encouraging anyone to go to the parade, but I do recognize the excitement and appeal of this event and defer to parents making the decisions for their students. I do this in part because when I was in high school, the Phillies won the World Series. On the day of the parade, my father insisted I go to school. He ignored my pleading, begging, and insistence that I be allowed to skip school for it. So - I went to school – I will think of my father fondly as I drive to school this Thursday.
Finally – I share a selfie of Doug Pederson and me – clearly the Coach of the Year in my book.
(8 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)
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