Parents and kids across the state are asking schools to implement 2-hour delays next Tuesday following the College Football Playoff National Championship Monday night, where the Indiana Hoosiers will be facing the Miami Hurricanes. Schools have had mixed reactions across the board.
Alicia Graves has two kids attending school in the Monroe County Community School Corporation. She sent emails to the school board, the mayor and Indiana Governor Mike Braun asking for a two-hour delay the next morning.
“It would allow families a little bit extra time the next morning to get ready to work, kids that drive, that are going to stay up and watch the game, it would allow them to have less fatigue,” she said. “Especially if they win, there's going to be a lot of adrenaline. Some kids aren't going to be able to fall asleep right away. So, I just felt it would allow the communities to come together and allow families and the community as a whole to experience it.”
In response to Graves’ request, a school board member wrote in an email back that while school delays aren’t initiated by the board, they don’t plan to propose one for next Tuesday. Within the email exchange Graves shared with WFIU/WTIU News, MCCSC said it had received several similar requests.
“Unfortunately, school delays and cancellations put a huge burden on our students and families, especially those with fewer resources,” the school board member wrote. “We heard this from several community members after the recent weather closures. I believe we should try to avoid school delays unless necessary for safety or other emergencies. It's also important to be mindful of state requirements for school hours.”
MCCSC did not respond to WFIU/WTIU News’ requests for comment.
But Seven Oaks, a charter school in Ellettsville, announced that it would implement a two-hour delay Tuesday, Jan. 20 following the football game to allow people to fully enjoy it. In a Facebook post announcing the decision, Headmaster Stephen Shipp said he hoped students would watch the game.
“I think we all sense that for our community, this game is more than a game,” he said. “It offers a moment to step into the spirit of true festivity. A true festival is a joyful pause from ordinary striving—a moment we receive as good, not merely '“so that'" we can produce more. When a whole community enters that spirit together, we’re tied more closely together and share gratitude and gladness, and we're reminded that our life together is based on more than utility.”
The post got over 100 likes and several people commented expressing their approval. Following the announcement, Graves expressed disappointment in MCCSC for not listening to parents’ requests for a delay. She said she wasn’t asking for the whole day off, and that students would still have access to their classes.
“It’s disappointing and concerning that MCCSC does not appear to be treating this as the valuable learning and life experience it truly is for students,” Graves said in a Facebook post. “When ideas are overlooked—sending the message that some voices don’t matter—it becomes necessary to revisit whether the mission statement is truly being upheld in practice, not just in words, by MCCSC administrators.”
In southern Indiana, the Lanesville Community School Corporation provided an incentive to the community to earn a two-hour delay.
The superintendent said if they can raise $1,820 for Riley Children’s Hospital by Saturday at the high school girl’s basketball game, they will implement a two-hour delay. It chose the amount $1,820 in honor of the year IU was founded, 1820. Washington Community Schools made a similar offer: if they’re able to raise $2,026 for a playground project at the primary school, there will be a two-hour delay Tuesday, Jan. 20. The $2,026 amount honors the year IU will potentially win its first national championship.
Nine-year-old Jack Gibson from southern Indiana even wrote a letter to Gov. Mike Braun asking him to delay school Jan. 20. In the letter, Gibson said he and his family had their snacks planned and lucky Hoosier gear picked out.
“I am also praying really hard for fog or maybe a little snow the next morning so school gets delayed,” Gibson wrote in the letter. “But if that doesn’t happen, I think it would be the ultimate Hoosier Hospitality move to make Tuesday, January 20th a 2-hour delay so kids like me can stay awake in class and not fall asleep during math.”
Senator Jim Banks endorsed the request. Braun responded to the letter in a broadcast.
“Getting schools to do it in general, would probably be a heavy lift,” he said.
