August 06, 2015
Disruptions from Pope Francis’ Sept. 26-27 weekend visit continue to spread as Philadelphia public school officials are now considering closing an additional day.
Fernando Gallard, a spokesman for the district, said the School Reform Commission now is set to consider a recommendation closing schools on Thursday, Sept. 24, two days before the pope lands here.
The board typically endorses recommendations from the district’s leadership. Formal consideration is set for Aug. 20, said Gallard.
District schools are already scheduled to be closed on Wednesday, Sept. 23 for the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur and also Friday, Sept. 25, a planned day off in advance of the pope’s arrival as security preparations get underway throughout the city and region.
For now, no call has yet been made if schools will remain closed on Monday, Sept. 28, because it is unclear if road closures and barriers will still be in place that morning, Gallard added.
The city has announced a “traffic box” in all of Center City, eventually extending as far west as 38th Street in University City.
Additionally, PennDOT is closing major highways into the city, which may not reopen until as late as noon on Monday Sept. 28
“It could be as late as the day before,” when the call is made about keeping schools closed – or not, added Gallard. “It depends on what the city tells us.”
Mark McDonald, a spokesman for Mayor Michael Nutter, who announced the restrictions Wednesday afternoon, likened the decision to how and when a snow emergency call is made.
“It could be just a few hours before,” he said Thursday. Commuters would be “well-advised to check news websites and official sites,” before setting out on Monday morning, McDonald said.
“We’ll know as people move out. We don’t know precisely when that will be. It’s indeterminate,” he said.
Gallard said adding Thursday to the list of planned days off can be accommodated by making a professional development day into a full school day.
Needing to fill in for one – and maybe two – additional days of childcare while public schools are closed could have been a major problem for Devenche Divine, a 61-year-old grandfather from South Kensington who often gets tapped to watch five of his grandchildren.
And because his adult children from Germantown and Northeast Philadelphia work on the weekend, he potentially could have had the grandkids “the whole time,” from Wednesday through Monday.
But he will need to be in Holmesburg most of those days with his 87-year-old father.
That's because Divine's niece, his dad's regular caregiver, will not be able to get there. She lives in Fairmount, near the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, which is ground zero for the pope’s visit.
“She’s in the exclusion zone,” for travel, but his route from Holmesburg to his home will remain open.
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia has already announced that its Catholic elementary, high school and special education schools will be closed from Sept. 23 to 25 so teachers and families can participate in the World Meeting of Families.
A spokesman for archdiocese said the Office for Catholic Education is evaluating plans for Monday, Sept. 28.
