Last-minute school cancellations send KC-area families scrambling
LEE’S SUMMIT, Mo. – A Lee’s Summit family has a full house, as a lot of students across the Kansas City metro round out their third snow day this week.
Childcare facilities that opened are doing what they can to assist parents, many of whom learned of cancellations late. These centers can be a life saver for parents.
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When schools close, childcare facilities like Operation Breakthrough try to stay open to support families.
Dad Chris Winburn is working from home with two little ones because school is canceled due to icy conditions.
“I would just say to all the parents out there, I understand all the struggle we’re all going through,” Winburn said.
He calls the scene at his house organized chaos.
Lee’s Summit along with most schools across the Kansas City metro called for a snow day Friday.
“My school’s canceled today,” Hayston Winburn said. “It is a very cold day. We can not go outside.”
For 4-year-old Hayston that means more time with little sis and her dog, for dad it’s about dialing in and avoiding distraction, no matter how cute.
“It certainly creates an extra fold in things, um having two extra kiddos in the house while you’re on phone calls and working off deadlines definitely changes the game,” Winburn said. “When there’s not school, that’s one thing, but then there’s no day care either so it’s like everybody comes home on those days.”
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On those days, Operation Breakthrough comes through for families. Friday, they cared for 135 children.
Jessica Kibby said 75 of those kids had working parents, with no other option for childcare.
“The families who don’t have people to help care for their kids, they lose their jobs, they have to take PTO that they would maybe need if their kid got sick,” Winburn said, “and they really just don’t have the flexibility that other families have.”
Staffers also hand out blankets and food to families.
With food in hand, Parent Natasha Reeves said it’s a saving Grace.
“For moms that are actually working and everything right now, it’s a lifesaver,” Reeves said, “I know a lot of moms that wouldn’t have anybody to watch their kids.”
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Winburn understands weather can be unpredictable at times, but said learning school is canceled only a couple of hours before the bell rings is a challenge.
“At 4, 5, 6 in the morning, saying school is canceled that day, that definitely puts a little riff in things, especially for me because at that point, I typically can’t rearrange my schedule,” Winburn said.
Still, parents appreciate schools keeping people safe and the Winburn’s make it work.
“It’s getting up early before the girls or up, it’s working at night once the girls are in bed,” Winburn said. “It’s sometimes having to walk around during conferences or phone calls to make sure I’ve got quiet time.”
Operation Breakthrough said they have an emergency crew that will come in to care for kids with parents who have no other option for childcare. Kibby said they could be kids with parents who work at the hospital, grocery store or some just in a tight spot.
