'Day Without Women' Shuts Down Schools, Forces Working Women to Find Childcare

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (WJLA) - Thousands of Alexandria City schoolchildren won’t be going to class Wednesday and it has nothing to do with the weather.

“It came as a surprise when my husband texted me to tell me there was no school,” says Courtney Scott, who has two boys in the fourth and fifth grades.

Wednesday is International Women’s Day, also known as "A Day Without Women." School officials say an unprecedented 300 teachers have requested leave.

That’s led to the closure of the district’s 16 schools, with 15,200 students getting the day off.

...outside Mt. Vernon Community School on Monday, some parents were caught off guard.

“I can imagine how big of an inconvenience it is for people who don't have child care and have to go in to work and don't have the options to stay home,” Scott says. “So, I can image some parents are feeling pretty overwhelmed right now.”