Thousands of High School Students Skip Class For Cubs Rally

It’s safe to say every Chicagoan was scrambling to get to the Cubs rally last Friday afternoon, but an unexpected group packed the Metra that morning — high school students.

Across the western suburbs, as many as more than half of entire high school populations were absent Nov. 4, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Here are the numbers:

• York High School: 1,600 of 2,750 total students were absent Friday
• Lyons Township High School: 1,654 of 4,000 students — across two campuses — were gone
• Hinsdale Central High School: 1,396 students were absent for one or more periods during the day — that’s nearly half of the whole student population
• Hinsdale South High School: 639 students — around 40 percent of the population — didn’t show up

“Obviously, the large number of students absent required some teachers to modify lessons and plans,” Erin DeLuga, the principal at York High School, told the Tribune. “Overall, the school day ran as planned, with as little disruption to the education process as possible.”

She said there was no talk among her staff of canceling school due to the Cubs rally.

Hinsdale District 86, which oversees both the Central and South schools, leaves it up to families to decide whether or not a child will be going to school on any given day. It's also up to teachers whether they want to continue their curriculum as planned or substitute other work if a large chunk of the class is missing.

The spokeswoman for Lyons Township High School, Jennifer Bialobok, said the school had already anticipated lower attendance Friday because sports teams were traveling, it was the beginning of the fall Snowball weekend and it was the start date of a popular religious retreat for students. Like DeLuga, she said cancellation wasn’t an option.

“While thrilled that the Cubs were able to break their century-long losing streak, our teachers and students were not about to break out 128-year tradition of teaching and learning,” she said.

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