When cold winter days begin to hit Montgomery County, students anxiously wait for this one important announcement: an MCPS snow day closure. While snow days and delays can feel incredibly exciting or surprising, MCPS follows a safety-focused process before making any decisions regarding closing or delaying school.
Most students find out about snow days through MCPS alerts early in the morning. Seneca Valley High School junior Elle Awanohara said notifications come early. “Usually I get an email early in the morning, and I check my phone and see it,” Awanohara said. Similarly, Seneca Valley High School junior Kaly Sanchez Lopez shared that she often receives an email or text message from MCPS.
Behind these announcements, there is a lot of preparation and decision-making from MCPS as they monitor and consider potential winter storms or extreme cold and harsh weather days in advance. In addition, factors such as icy roads and snowfall all play a part in the final decision.
Road safety is another significant consideration in closures and delays for MCPS. MCPS monitors thousands of buses across the county, with many travelling in neighborhoods and roads that can be impacted by ice and snowfall. Furthermore, many students walk to school, which makes icy sidewalks a concern and is a part of the decision-making.
Photo of the icy road conditions in Montgomery County
Awanohara said this focus on safety concerns explains why she trusts MCPS decisions. “I think they do make the right choices because a lot of kids walk to school and usually they make the correct choices when it’s really icy,” she said.
However, not all decisions are supported by students. Lopez recalled a past weather decision that she found confusing. According to Lopez, school was canceled due to rain, but when conditions later changed to snow, students were still expected to attend school. “But, I would say most of the time, in other years, they have made the right calls,” she added. Weather conditions can change drastically and quickly, making predictions less accurate, even with careful planning.
Snow days and delays affect students in different ways. For some students, closures have minimal academic impact. Awanohara said snow days do not significantly affect her schoolwork. “It does not really affect me,” she said. “It actually makes me pretty happy.”
Other students experience a bit of disruption. Lopez explained that unexpected closures can affect planned assignments. Snow days usually happen with no notice or preparation from students, which can cause them to fall behind in work that they were not expecting to miss. “I kind of miss out on some work, because I did not have that day that I was not planning to miss, and now my work isn’t done,” she said.
When asked about preferences between delays, full snow days, and online learning, both students favored full snow days. “Depends on the weather, but it’s nice to have a day off,” Awanohara said. Lopez expressed a stronger opinion on it, stating that virtual learning feels unnecessary and that delayed openings make it harder to focus. According to Lopez, students are not mentally present at school during delays, leading to distraction throughout the day.
Snow days are often met with excitement and relief for many students. Awanohara stated that closures make her very happy because they allow for extra sleep. Lopez reiterated this reaction, saying, “Thank God,” when MCPS announced a closure. She described it as “a little blessing,” explaining that students need that extra time and break from school.
MCPS continues to focus on protecting the community and ensuring safety over actual convenience. Snow days feel joyful to many students, but are the result of careful planning and difficult decisions. However, snow days are not always beneficial for some students, as they believe that they disrupt students’ learning and can negatively impact their academic routines.
Written by Miley Thomas
Photos by Armand Campbell-Oberholtzer