GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV)—School is out for most students near the NFL Draft, at least for two or three days that week. However, the Green Bay Area Catholic Education school system will remain in session.
“We did a lot of homework and we did a lot of research for the draft to decide to remain open,” Kim Desotell, GRACE Catholic Schools president, said. “Schools are made for children, children are made for schools. We want to ensure that we’re working with our families and their desire to send their kids to school too.”
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With nine schools and 2,400 students in GRACE from daycare through high school, the decision to stay open began to be formulated nearly a year and a half ago. Law enforcement, bus companies, the Packers and Kansas City all gave the school system the green light.
“What would you do differently? And Kansas City’s number one answer was, ‘keep the schools open,’” Desotell said.
Each of the nine schools has a plan tailored to its needs during Draft Week, much of which relates to safety and security.
“Each of our schools has what we call a draft plan, a safety plan for Draft Week,” Desotell said. “[It’s] a few more eyes and ears inside the school to attend to visitors, doing a little bit more check-in at the doors.”
Some schools are considering parking passes to ensure parents or staff are the only ones using the lots.
“Managing and watching the traffic that may flow in and out of our parking lots, making sure that they are a member of our community and not just a random member that wants to park there or an AirBNB that might be down the street,” Desotell said.
Working with law enforcement to create draft week plans has been paramount, as the school system has to work with multiple agencies to protect students and staff.
“They’re aware we’re staying open and that we may have needs on those two days,” Desotell said. “Our closest school to the stadium is Holy Family on Fisk Street and we do have extra eyes and ears outside.”
While traffic concerns are on many people’s radars, Desotell says some planning in advance will help and bring patience if there is a significant delay.
“We’re just encouraging families to allow for extra time. If they need extra time to get to school in the morning or even our staff members, if they need to alter their route,” she said. “We’ll also be more accommodating.”
Other area districts have reasoned that they are not holding school during the draft due to intense logistical challenges and allow families to participate in festivities. Desotell says families have the option to pull their kids to attend the draft if they choose.
“Some of our families have said they may leave town or want to keep their children home. That’s perfectly fine, we work with our parents in what we do and they get to make that decision,” Desotell said. “I think some of them will elect to go after school, if they want to pull their children earlier, they’ll communicate with the school.”
A downside to not having school is that childcare can become an issue for working parents.
“We feel that we’re providing a service to our families, a valued service to keep our schools open,” Desotell said. “Of course, when you close schools, you present a secondary, fall-out issue of childcare.”
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The decision to stay open during the draft was not taken lightly, and Desotell is confident her school system made the right choice.
“It was a tough decision,” she said. “Anytime you’re making decisions about the safety of children, it is utmost and vital and important to take the time to analyze those decisions.”
