Absences excused for Boston students not in school

BOSTON (WHDH) -- The following release was sent out by Boston Public Schools on Friday:

Snow update: Students not in school will have absences excused today
All extracurricular activities, athletic events cancelled for this afternoon

BOSTON – Superintendent Carol R. Johnson has announced that all students not in class today will be marked “constructively present” rather than absent. This means if a parent decided to keep a child home today due to the snowstorm, their child will not be counted as absent from school and the absences will be excused. An automated phone call is being sent to all families.
 
Today’s forecast continues to change and additional snow is predicted for the next few hours. Therefore all extracurricular activities including athletic events are cancelled today. Schools will dismiss on their normal schedules and school buses will complete all scheduled routes.
 
“Our school staff, especially our Facilities teams, have done an incredible job today keeping sidewalks and driveways clear of snow even as the snow continues to pile up,” Superintendent Johnson said. “We know many families made their own decision as to whether to keep their children home and we want to honor those choices, which is why we will not mark these students as absent. In addition, we continue to monitor the forecast which indicates the afternoon commute may be more difficult than originally predicted. This is why we are going to cancel afternoon and evening activities. We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding during this unusual storm.”
 
Families can call the BPS Transportation Hotline this afternoon to check on the status of bus routes. Our operators can look up the real-time positions of school buses to give families a sense of when they will arrive. That number is (617) 635-9520.