Students received some pretty surprising news Thursday night.
School on Friday wouldn’t be cancelled due to a record-low minus-10 degree Fahrenheit overnight temperature and snow-caked roads. But there would be big, warm hugs and maybe a shelter kitty to take home if you actually made it to the building!
This morning started off great. Icicles forming on their noses, students entered through the egress and lower cafeteria, which had been reconfigured into giant bouncy houses featuring security guards dressed up in jolly clown costumes. Superintendent David Glasner and Principal Isaiah Wyatt positioned themselves at each entrance, arms wide open to any frostbitten student in need of some immediate warmth.
Wyatt wrapped a blanket around himself as he looked around at the miserable population of the high school. “Yeah, some of these classrooms are freezing. But the nurse has these great heating pads that she’s giving out totally for free,” he said, shivering.
Theatrics continued well into the school day as most teachers gave up their lesson plans, threw on “Frozen” and gathered in the Individuals & Societies office to conserve heat. Students, however, were far more interested in the shelter cats being distributed in the small auditorium. The complimentary kittens were snapped up almost instantly, and the distraction was successful until students had to haul the felines home in 13-degree conditions after school.
In stark contrast to freezing rooms with leaky windows and heating units blowing cold air, some students were treated to blisteringly hot classes and radiators capable of inflicting third-degree burns. Windows were propped open, and several daring kittens made their escapes from the scenes of hell playing out behind them.
“See this one? This one’s called Colby Jack,” Wyatt said, unfolding his massive blanket to reveal a colony of cats living in the fabric. “And this one’s Brie. Here’s Feta, and there goes Mozzarella — Hey, kids, stop looking outside; your cars are fine.”
Cars parked around the school suffered worse fates than most students. Vehicles that made it out of driveways and avoided the snowbanks on South Woodland Road were subjected to frozen batteries and deflated tires.
There was also some really loud screaming in the halls from time to time; not because of the cold, but because it was Friday afternoon at Shaker Heights High School.
Said Wyatt, “Alright, I think I’m all done here. I need to go and set up my sleeping bag, anyway — you must be crazy if you think I’m leaving the building in this weather.”
Elizabeth | Jan 31, 2026 at 1:59 pm
Was their actually a kitten in school?