Chicago Public School Case Study

Words: 441
Pages: 2

We write to request that you immediately suspend the Little Gems International “emergency closings policy” (Parents’ Handbook (“PH”) 24), which mandates closure of Little Gems whenever the Chicago
Public Schools close. In its place you should adopt a policy that Little Gems will be closed because of weather conditions “only in the most extraordinary of situations” (PH 24), the policy currently applicable to weather closures occurring during school hours. “Extraordinary situations” should be limited to weather conditions sufficient to cause major employers in the City of Chicago to close their doors.
The current policy is flawed because the concerns, liabilities, and resources of the Chicago Public Schools
(“CPS”) are radically different from those of Little Gems.
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Where CPS students are compelled by law to attend school, attendance at Little Gems is entirely voluntary; any parent concerned about commuting conditions on a given day may choose to keep her child at home without repercussion. Where CPS students must make up lost curricular time over a certain threshold, Little Gems makes no provision to compensate for lost classroom time. Finally, CPS is a public institution facing a complex regulatory environment and a multiplicity of stakeholders; Little Gems is a for-profit institution, existing in a competitive market and primarily accountable (and dependent on) parents who pay tuition.
Given these marked institutional distinctions, the decision by CPS to close for inclement weather is not a reliable proxy for the interests of the Little Gems community and should not be used to determine whether Little Gems should close.
Unsurprisingly, other day care/education providers in Lincoln Park understand these differences and do not outsource their decision-making to CPS. This week, while Little Gems and CPS were closed,