With the recent flurry of wintry weather, school districts across Maryland have had to make several emergency calls for delays, closures, and early releases. During the last week of January, MCPS students had no full days of school—with one professional day, two delayed openings, one closure and one early release to close off the week. As of now, MCPS has had three snow days total this year, so the 2019-2020 school year has been extended to June 14.
According to the MCPS website, the decision to close or delay takes into account information from the National Weather forecast as well as inspections of road and sidewalk conditions throughout the county. Last-minute checks on roads inform early morning updates, especially when iciness or snowfall is not uniform across the school district. Just two weeks ago, a call for a two-hour delay on January 30 changed to a full-day closure due to icier conditions in upcounty areas, such as Poolesville and Damascus, according to Bethesda Magazine.
MCPS’ decision-making process aligns with many students’ own criteria for a closure. Specifically, icy sidewalks and roads from freezing rain are some of the biggest areas of concern for students when getting to school. “I think it mostly matters with walking because that’s where most issues tend to be. If sidewalks and paths are icy, it’s dangerous,” Richard Montgomery sophomore Samantha Renton said.
Another recent cause for delay have been subzero temperatures, which pose a threat to students who walk to school or wait at bus stops. “When you walk into school it doesn’t bother you that much, but it’s still really annoying to walk into school when it’s less than 10 degrees Fahrenheit outside,” Richard Montgomery junior Clare Zhang said.
However, some students also feel that a few of MCPS’ recent emergency weather calls were unnecessary. “I feel like for some of them we were just following the other counties, more so than making our own decisions,” Renton said. “But I also can’t see everything in Montgomery County; I can only see the little bit I’m around. But where I was around, it was generally clear,” she added.
In particular, the early release on Friday, February 1, has stirred some discussion. Snow fell heavily while students were leaving school but stopped an hour later. “The last one on Friday was definitely not justified,” Richard Montgomery junior Joy Wang said. “We had to walk home in the snow.”
Since MCPS only has two built-in weather emergency days this year, make-ups for any future closures will take days away from professional days or spring break. For many, the thought of losing spring break time, especially since the 2019-2020 break is only six days long, puts a damper on the excitement of a snow day.
“Even if you get one off day like this, it’s not the same as having an actual break,” Renton said. “And then families have plans where the kids would have to miss school in order to follow through, and that’s an unexcused absence.”
On the other hand, other students still value snow days as a source of immediate relief in the middle of a busy school year. “I use [snow days] to work. Maybe there’s an essay I have to write, so I’ll work on that,” Richard Montgomery freshman Sui Sung said.
While no major snowstorms have appeared in the February weather forecast yet, more snow showers and wintry mixes are in the foreseeable future for Montgomery County. According to Bethesda Magazine, potential make-up days for future closures are April 17, April 18 and June 5. Although spring break days will likely not be the first to go, MCPS will still need to evaluate the need for a snow day with both student safety and long term consequences.
Article by MoCo Student staff writer Helen Qian of Richard Montgomery High School