MEMPHIS, Tenn. — There is growing frustration amongst Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) parents after Thursday's early dismissal of students due to remnants of Hurricane Francine sweeping through the Mid-South.
While several school districts across the Mid-South canceled early because of the incoming inclement weather, MSCS only sent out a post shortly after 11 a.m. Thursday on social media. This stands in contrast to Collierville Schools, as officials announced ahead of time on Wednesday afternoon that schools would be dismissing early on Thursday.
Charlie Hale said she dropped her daughter off at A. Maceo Walker Middle School on Thursday morning. However, she had no idea school would be released only a few hours later.
Hale said she’s livid not only because her daughter had to stand outside in the rain after school was dismissed, but also because she was not contacted by the district or the school.
The only contact she received was from her own daughter telling her school was canceled.
“[My daughter] was like, 'They’re telling us if you’re not here in the next five to ten minutes, they’re gonna make us go outside.' Go outside? It’s raining outside, and it’s cold outside," Hale said. "I pulled up to her school at 12:05, and she was standing outside with 20 to 25 kids.”
We reached out to Memphis-Shelby County Schools to see if there was any internal miscommunication with their efforts to alert parents that school would be letting out early. We have not received an email response.