No DC team has won a national championship in the lifetime of anyone under 26, but that won’t get Washington-area public school kids out of class Tuesday morning. Students in DC, Arlington, Alexandria, and Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties who want to attend the Capitals victory parade will risk getting busted for playing hooky.
Here’s what five school districts in the DC area said about their plans for the Capitals parade:
DC Public Schools told students and their families Monday that “Participating in the Victory Parade is an individual family’s decision and we encourage you to discuss your child’s plans. DCPS will not be excusing student absences tomorrow, but we encourage our staff and students to #RocktheRed throughout the school day.”
An Alexandria City Public Schools spokeswoman told Washingtonian that the city’s public schools have no special plans, and that if students are late to school due to the parade, it would be considered an unexcused absence.
Arlington may be the home of the Caps’ practice rink, but that hasn’t swayed the Arlington Public Schools. While individual schools might choose to screen the parade, classes will proceed as planned; communications coordinator Frank Bellavia said that as far as he knew, the subject of a mid-day dismissal hadn’t even merited an internal discussion.
Maryland students won’t be catching a break, either. Montgomery County Public Schools spokeswoman Gboyinde Onijala said that Tuesday will be “a full instructional day” irrespective of the parade. Ditto for public schools in Prince George’s County.
