All schools in the Alexandria, Va. city school district near Washington, D.C. will be closed on Wednesday for “A Day Without a Woman” due to limited staff.
The protest, organized by the group behind the Women’s March in Washington, is scheduled for March 8, International Women’s Day.
The school system announced Monday that more than 300 staff members had requested the day off to participate in the strike. As a result, the Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) decided to close schools for the day.
{mosads}”This is not a decision that was made lightly,” Superintendent of Schools Alvin L. Crawley said in the announcement. “The decision is based solely on our ability to provide sufficient staff to cover all our classrooms, and the impact of high staff absenteeism on student safety and delivery of instruction.”
The day will be a “teacher work day for ACPS staff.”
Crawley’s statement insisted the decision to close the schools is “not based on a political stance or position.”
The group planning the strike have offered a variety of ways to participate via its website and through social media, including spending money only at businesses owned by women and minorities, wearing red, or taking the day off.
“In the same spirit of love and liberation that inspired the Women’s March, we join together in making March 8th A Day Without a Woman, recognizing the enormous value that women of all backgrounds add to our socio-economic system — while receiving lower wages and experiencing greater inequities, vulnerability to discrimination, sexual harassment, and job insecurity,” reads the website for the strike.