School officials urge extra caution as classes resume

Parents and students were being urged Friday to take extra precautions while traveling to and from school as most districts across the region resumed classes. Mounds of snow continue to cover many corners where students normally wait for buses and many sidewalks remain impassable after a blizzard dropped more than 20 inches across most of the area this week.

In Indian Prairie Unit District 204, which serves portions of Naperville, Aurora and other communities, students were asked to wait for buses in driveways that were cleared of snow nearest their normal bus stops.

Superintendent Kathy Birkett posted a notice on the district’s website, saying First Student bus drivers had been instructed to look for students anywhere near their usual bus stops.

Concerns with students who might be forced to walk or wait for buses in the street caused Mundelein District 75 schools to remain closed an extra day.

“When we return to school on Monday, we are asking parents to escort their children to the bus stop and wait with them,” Superintendent Cynthia Heidorn said in a website posting. “If you choose to drive your student to school, please be extra cautious and watch for children who may be walking in the street.”

Mundelein High School District 120 Superintendent Jody Ware, meanwhile, urged motorists to exercise extra caution.

“My advice is for all motorists to be especially cautious of student pedestrians and our young drivers,” she said. “Throughout our community, they just need to be very, very careful.”

Ware suggested parents develop temporary plans for ensuring their children get to school safely. She recommended parents walk or drive students to bus stops and wait until they’re picked up. For teens who drive to school, parents should know the routes they take and their school schedules.

“It’s key for all of us to be in communication,” Ware said.

In Batavia District 101 officials said alternate locations were established Friday for some bus stops in apartment complexes. And in Cook County, Arlington Heights District 25 officials said they expect to have sidewalk routes clear for students by the middle of next week.

Officials from Stevenson High School District 125 in Lincolnshire, meanwhile, said things have settled pretty much back to normal, although some students arrived late Friday because of roads still clogged with snow.

“We followed the same procedure (this morning),” said public information coordinator Jim Conrey. “We are back to normal. Well, as normal as you can be, given the circumstances.”

Ÿ Staff writers Mick Zawislak, Russell Lissau, Deborah Donovan and Susan Sarkauskas contributed to this report.