Philadelphia Charter School Forced To Close During NFL Draft
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- One Philadelphia school says it has no choice but to close during the NFL Draft.
No District schools are closing, but students and staff at the Russell Byers Charter School at 19th and Arch Streets will be getting four days off during the NFL Draft.
With street closures near the Parkway, head of school Jesse Bean says the school felt compelled to shut down April 25 through the 28. He says unlike the Pope's visit, the NFL's official Draft announcement last September caught his school flat-footed.
"We had no idea. The Vatican approached us a year in advance with its plans, and we had no idea this was coming. When I found out, it was about the same time everybody else found out, which was about a week before we made the decision," Bean said. "We made the only decision we felt we could make, given the circumstances and the timing to give our parents enough time to develop contingencies."
Five-hundred students attend the pre-K thru 6 school.
"We ultimately have an obligation to student safety and access to a safe learning environment," Bean said. "And in this case, the city's road closures simply precluded any kind of viable workaround for us."
Bean says the four days will be made up, including adding two days to the end of the school year.
