Chicago Public School Students Set To Return As Weather Improves

CHICAGO — Chicago Public School students will return to the classroom on Wednesday after the district canceled classes on Tuesday due to extremely cold temperatures and windchill readings.

In a letter to CPS families, Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez said that although the district will continue to monitor weather conditions, classes will resume on Wednesday. Forecasters are predicting temperatures to steadily begin to improve as the week goes on, but the wind chill warning that had been in effect for much of the greater Chicago area has been downgraded to an advisory for Wednesday.

“Fortunately, the frigid temperatures that Chicago has been experiencing for the past few days are beginning to moderate,” Martinez wrote in the letter. “That said, it will still be cold for the remainder of the week, so we will continue monitoring weather conditions carefully to ensure all staff and students remain comfortable and safe.”

Martinez said that CPS building engineers have been working continually to ensure that heating systems at all CPS school buildings are working properly ahead of students’ return on Wednesday. He said that as students prepare to return to classes following a two-day break this week that included the Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday on Monday and Tuesday’s cancelation over the weather, the district will continue to implement inclement weather protocols.

Those include limiting the amount of time students spend outdoors as temperatures are expected to remain in the single digits for daytime highs. District officials encourage students to continue to dress in layers and to keep exposed skin to a minimum as winter weather continues over the next few days when more snow is possible.

Martinez said that in addition to returning to the classroom, students will need to make up work missed on Tuesday due to extra instructional days that are built into the district calendar.