There will be no school for students on Friday, Nov. 12, Seattle Public Schools announced just days before, on Tuesday.
A district-wide email sent out to Seattle parents today says an “unusually large number” of school staff are taking Friday — the day after Veterans Day — off, and that the district lacks “adequate personnel to open schools with the necessary environment for high-quality learning.”
“This is a change from the published schedule, and we recognize the late notice creates challenging circumstances for many families,” the email continues.
A statement from Seattle Public Schools further elaborated on the district closure.
“The number of leave requests on a Friday after a federal holiday is indicative of the fatigue our staff and students are experiencing in these months of the return to classroom,” a statement from Seattle Public Schools said. “The four-day weekend may offer physical, mental, and emotional restoration.”
Something similar was planned in San Diego. From KPBS:
By Maureen Cavanaugh, Andrew Bracken
Published November 10, 2021 at 3:45 PM PST
San Diego Unified schools will indeed be open this Friday, despite an earlier plan to make it a mental health holiday. …
Dr. Lamont Jackson, right, interim superintendent of the San Diego Unified School District, originally proposed the idea for the day off on Friday, Nov. 12. But many parents pushed back on the proposed day off, citing a lack of advance notice to accommodate the added day off.
There are several things going on, such as a tight labor market. But a greater disinclination to work appears to be a long term trend that emerged with the March 2020 lockdowns, which many people enjoyed, and was spread by the sacralization of all things black during the Racial Reckoning. Black female academics have been talking about how exhausted they are for years, and now the attitude is spreading.
