Some school districts and states in recent years have abandoned or rethought snow days and allowed instruction to continue virtually when inclement weather shuts down school buildings. The proliferation of remote learning during COVID-19 has accelerated that trend in states like and New York, where schools now have the option to continue snow days or skip them this year.
Thirty-nine percent of principals and district leaders say their district has converted snow days to remote learning days, and another 32 percent say their districts are considering the change, according to an EdWeek Research Center survey conducted earlier this month.
But some holdouts remain.
The Mahwah school district in New Jersey last month nationwide when it announced that it would continue to 鈥渃lose鈥� school as usual this year during snow events, even if students are already at home due to COVID-19.
The district at the foot of the Watchung mountains typically has between three and five snow days in its calendar to use when winter weather strikes. Teachers traditionally encourage elementary students to do fun activities at home that superstitiously make snowfall more likely, such as wearing pajamas inside out, flushing ice cubes down the toilet, and placing a spoon beneath pillows while sleeping.
鈥淭he history of snow days is steeped within our culture,鈥� said Lisa Rizzo, the district鈥檚 director of special services.
So when administrators began discussing how to approach the cold weather season amid a pandemic that鈥檚 still raging eight months after it shut down most U.S. school buildings across the country, the decision was far from a no-brainer.
鈥楴ormal Rites of Passage鈥�
Virtual learning has become the norm for many students this school year and will likely persist beyond the pandemic. But 鈥渨e recognize the pandemic has robbed our students of the normal rites of passage: normal prom, typical graduation, even the way children enjoy the first day of school with the obligatory photograph on the steps outside the school building,鈥� Rizzo said.
The snow day, then, represents a rare oasis of normalcy, and the tradition will continue.
鈥淩eally, we could all use that surprise phone call right now,鈥� said Dennis Fare, the district鈥檚 assistant superintendent. 鈥淭hat excitement is needed not just for our children, but very much for our adults who are working really hard.鈥�
The Slate Valley district in Vermont also plans to maintain traditional snow days this year. A majority of the district鈥檚 students are eligible for free and reduced-price meals. Remote learning on snow days would require the school to either distribute meals to families鈥� homes during severe weather or leave students without meals that day, according to Brooke Olsen-Farrell, the district鈥檚 superintendent.
鈥淚f a school district was to go remote on a snow day instead and not provide meals, they would also not be making up the day鈥� for meal delivery at the end of the year, Olsen-Farrell said. 鈥淭herefore, over the course of the school year students could potentially have decreased access to food.鈥�
Several district leaders have said requiring remote learning would be particularly tricky if the snowstorm that closes school buildings also knocks out electricity.
In other places, though, snow days will soon look different, if they exist at all.
West Hartford Schools in Connecticut will give students the day off . New York City schools , and the same is true for in Wisconsin and the . The , now that it鈥檚 achieved its goal of providing every student with an iPad.
Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and Pennsylvania had already passed policies prior to the pandemic that allow schools to continue instruction remotely when school buildings close for bad weather.
In Academy District 20 in Colorado Springs, Colo., a 鈥渟now day鈥� now means middle and high school students continue with online learning, while elementary schoolers will have the day off as before. The new policy arose after the district delayed the start of this school year by a week, essentially exhausting all five of the allotted days for secondary schools that don鈥檛 require makeup at the end of the school year, said Tom Gregory, the district鈥檚 superintendent.
Reasons to Dump Snow Days
In some parts of the country, extending the school year is an unpleasant proposition as temperatures rise, particularly for schools without central air conditioning. Enthusiasm for school work also tends to wane in the last few weeks of the school year, said Rick Ferdig, a professor of educational technology at Kent State University in Ohio.
Ferdig believes those are compelling reasons to rethink snow days. He鈥檚 convinced that they鈥檝e stuck around, in part, because adults have nostalgia for their childhood snow day experiences. And he doesn鈥檛 buy the argument that snow days should remain to boost students鈥� mental health: 鈥淲hy aren鈥檛 you just planning mental health breaks anyway?鈥�
In an ideal world, Ferdig said, all schools would be comfortable abandoning snow days because they鈥檙e adequately equipped to maintain high-quality instruction remotely. But, as the last year has shown, 鈥渕any schools are not prepared to do that,鈥� he said. 鈥淚n no way shape or form can you consider not having snow days if you don鈥檛 address the equity issue.鈥�
Indeed, schools are already finding that requiring remote learning during snow days won鈥檛 be without headaches. In the Janesville district in Wisconsin, schools will encourage students to take their school-issued devices home with them if winter weather is predicted, but students may have to use their own computers for remote learning if snowfall hits unexpectedly, according to the .
Mixed Opinions
The community reaction to the new snow day approach in Gregory鈥檚 district hasn鈥檛 been uniformly positive, he said.
鈥淪ome parents are glad to see that students are still expected to be engaged,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here are other parents who think there should be a snow day like it always has been.鈥�
When COVID-19 is no longer a crisis, Gregory expects remote instruction might be an option for students on inclement weather days, rather than a requirement. He also hopes to see the state rethink its policy around instructional time. 鈥淚s seat time still the measuring stick we should be using?鈥� he said.
All of the concerns about replacing snow days with remote instruction are valid, but worth overcoming, Ferdig said. He points to the approach schools in Singapore have taken, with once a week in preparation for an emergency like COVID-19. That kind of long-range planning would serve U.S. schools well.
鈥淟et鈥檚 find a way to capitalize on this,鈥� Ferdig said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 to prove that we鈥檙e prepared to educate our kids in any way necessary.鈥�
