Yael T. Abouhalkah: School districts decide not to rain on the Royals’ World Series parade

The argument has kept social media white-hot on Monday: Should school districts cancel classes on Tuesday so students, teachers and administrators can attend the Kansas City Royals’ World Series parade?

I say yes — and many districts on both sides of the state line agree.

That includes Blue Springs, Blue Valley, Independence, Kansas City, Kansas, Liberty, North Kansas City, Olathe, Park Hill, Raytown and Shawnee Mission.

The Shawnee Mission district noted, “Thirty years ago, the Kansas City community paused to celebrate the success of the Kansas City Royals as World Series Champions. On Tuesday, the Kansas City community will once again have the opportunity to celebrate a similar victory and honor the Royals as the 2015 World Series Champions. In light of the many celebratory activities and the tremendous impact it is having on our community” the district is canceling classes Tuesday.

Making the wrong call (as of 3 p.m. Monday): Kansas City Public Schools.

UPDATE: The Kansas City district tweeted this news shortly after 4 p.m.: “In a @Royals-like late-inning win, KCPS has decided we will not be in session tomorrow, Nov. 3. Enjoy the day and go @Royals!”

North Kansas City also reversed course and decided Monday afternoon to cancel Tuesday classes after hearing from many parents. Earlier, NKC Superintendent Paul Kinder had said, “While many of us want to celebrate this historic occasion, our priority must be to educate our kids and make sure they are well supervised.”

And Liberty made its call late in the day, finally saying, “As today unfolded, we received significant feedback from staff, parents, and students saying they plan to be absent from school on Tuesday. There was also concern of not having enough substitutes in classrooms to take care of our students; thus, we have come to this decision.”

Here’s why I think canceling classes is the right move — and quickly adding that most if not all districts will make this day up during the school year, so no “educational days” will be lost.

The parade is a great educational opportunity for kids, especially. They can see what hard work accomplishes for a team. They can enjoy being with a huge crowd celebrating a historic event.

This can and will be a mixing of people from all walks of life — rich and poor, from urban areas and the far-out suburbs, black and white and Hispanic children.

People will be able to see some of the great improvements made to downtown in recent years; it’s not the dreadfully dull place it used to be.

And, though I sometimes hate how sports-centric the modern world has become, I don’t see this as a worshiping of millionaire ballplayers — at least not too much.

Instead, again, it’s a recognition that a community can come together for a common goal — in this case supporting a baseball team — and take delight when the goal is reached.

This story was originally published November 2, 2015 at 3:03 PM with the headline "Yael T. Abouhalkah: School districts decide not to rain on the Royals’ World Series parade."