No excuses, Seattle kids, stay in school.
As the Emerald City prepares to celebrate its Super Bowl LX champion, the Seattle Seahawks, with a championship parade on Wednesday, the Seattle Public Schools District announced Monday that its schools will remain open and “parade attendance will not be considered an excused absence.”
“As the city plans celebrations, including a victory parade planned for Wednesday, February 11 at 10 a.m., we want families to know that Seattle Public Schools will remain open with the traditional Wednesday early release schedule,” the district’s statement, signed in part by SPS Chief Operating Officer Fred Podesta, said.
Seattle Public Schools includes elementary, K-8, middle and high schools with early release on Wednesdays from 1:10 to 2:30 p.m., according to the district’s bell schedule page.
Skipping class will be listed as an “unexcused absence,” with Podesta stressing that keeping schools open is important for students to maintain “stability, safety and continuity.”
In each of the last three years, many schools and neighborhoods were closed on Super Bowl parade days for the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs.
Seattle defeated the New England Patriots, 29-13, on Sunday in Santa Clara, Calif., to win its second Super Bowl in a contest in which quarterback Kenneth Walker III was named Super Bowl MVP.
The Seahawks World Champions Parade takes place at 10 a.m. PT on Wednesday.
It’s kicking off with a trophy celebration at Lumen Field, followed by a parade down 4th Avenue in downtown Seattle at 11:00am.
The Lumen Field event is open to the public and free, but tickets are required.
“This year’s Seahawks team united all of Seattle with the strongest, loudest and most cohesive spirit I’ve ever seen,” Seattle Mayor Katie B. Wilson said in Monday’s announcement. “And [Sunday]they delivered in historic fashion, beating the Patriots and bringing home another Lombardi Trophy to Seattle. Now it’s time to celebrate. I’m looking forward to the parade this week and I encourage everyone to come out and take part in the celebration – responsibly, together and with pride.”