For New York City's public school students, walking in a winter wonderland is going to have to wait until after class is dismissed, an education official said Tuesday.
"There are technically no more snow days," David Banks, the city's Department of Education chancellor, told WNYW's "Good Day New York."
Banks explained that students will be able to use the remote-learning technology that was deployed during the COVID-19 pandemic to continue their studies on days when snow and ice make travel to school too hazardous. In other words, days when they would have met up with their friends to go sledding in the park.
"So, sorry kids — no more snow days, but it's going to be good for you!" he said.
According to the New York Post, the no snow day policy was first implemented in 2020 during the first year of the pandemic and was continued the following school year. The scrapping of snow days will likely help the city's Department of Education (DOE) meet the state's requirement that students attend classes 180 days per year.
While school districts in other states have also canceled snow days, some places, such as Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia, have kept them. According to The Washington Post, the Virginia district budgeted for up to five snow days last year.
In Chicago, Rogers Park Montessori Principal Ben Blair told WFLD earlier this year that the unexpected time off could have a positive impact on students.
"I think there's value in these moments of reckless, joyful abandon," Blair told the station. "Whether flopping in the snow or meeting neighbors out on the street shoveling, that human connection that serendipitously happens during a snow day is fantastic."
Twitter users raged at the idea of curling up with a tablet instead of a mug of hot chocolate on a snow day.
"NYC removing snow days is the most foul thing [you] can do with the advancement of technology," one user said.
"NYC canceling snow days is a sin," another wrote.
Even as Banks touted the benefits of "new technology," a group of low-income families said the system left their children behind during the pandemic. According to the New York Post, five parents sued city officials in December, arguing that the DOE provided them with faulty laptops and iPads and offered no technical support.
Heading into the new school year, teachers have been told to have a "digital classroom" set up by Sept. 30, to ensure students aren't affected by the sudden switch to remote learning, if needed.
"The set-up should include uploading necessary materials for the first day of an emergency closure," a United Federation of Teachers spokesperson told the New York Post.
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