CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Some people are starting to call this "No-School November" in the Chicago Public Schools system.
Chicago Public Schools students are off Friday for a school improvement day, and off next Thursday for Veterans Day. Now, an additional day off has been declared - marking a sixth scheduled day off, if you include the three days off during Thanksgiving week.
Schools CEO Pedro Martinez has declared next Friday, Nov. 12, "Vaccine Awareness Day." He said students and staff will be off that day so parents or caregivers can take their children to be vaccinated. Five- to 11-year olds were approved for COVID vaccinations this week, but 12-year olds and older have been able to get them for months.
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There’s been some backlash online. On the CPS Facebook page, some people complained that the extra day off only means parents have to find someone to take care of their children while they work. Another suggested the day off was declared, because schools are already going to be closed on Thursday and that the system would have been woefully short of substitute teachers for Friday, as many regular teachers make it a four-day weekend.