Middle schooler Emily Beckman is doing her darndest to bring back old-fashioned snow days to Academy District 20, the Colorado Springs, Colo., school district she attends, which converted four of six annual built-in snow days to remote learning days after the pandemic.
In a video produced by Rocky Mountain PBS, 12-year-old Emily opines on the “magical” nature of these spontaneous days off: sleeping in, sipping hot cocoa, having snowball fights with her brother, sledding. But the tween has a serious streak, too. She started a petition for the return of school days in her school district, and recently pleaded her case before its board of education. So far, no decision has been made.
Elsewhere in the nation, the pendulum appears to be swinging back toward snow days. There are no hard data to show the precise breakdown of snow versus remote learning days during bouts of wintry weather, and policies continue to evolve. But some districts and even entire states are moving away from remote learning during inclement weather—in spite of, or perhaps because of, schools’ experience with remote learning during the pandemic.
“In Maine, we have always had a number of snow days, usually three or four, worked into our yearly calendar,” Rebecca Wright, assistant principal at Ellsworth High School in Maine, wrote in an email.
That’s not changing anytime soon: “People need the break that the snow days afford, and we had poor overall attendance for remote learning” during the pandemic, she said.
Changing attitudes about remote learning days
In November 2020, when extended school closures were common, an EdWeek Research Center survey reported that around 70 percent of principals and school district officials had converted or were considering converting snow days to remote learning days. That survey has not been revived, but there’s reason to believe the results would now differ.
Parents and teachers also have strong—and mixed—opinions on remote versus snow days. Some teachers bemoan snow days, when students could be continuing their school lessons from home. But others point out that this isn’t always an equitable option, as some families lack internet connections or computers.
Other educators, like Maryland high school teacher Rebekah, appreciate the break snow days offer. “Snow days are magical and allow for much-needed play, especially for older students,” Rebekah said on X.
For parents, how they feel about snow days depends on their family’s personal circumstances. Overseeing their children’s remote learning while working from home can be challenging for parents.
Why the pendulum seems to be swinging in favor of snow days
A move away from remote learning days is happening even in areas that experience significant snowfall. Anchorage, Alaska, for instance, has what experts call a “subarctic” climate. In 2023, 132 inches of snow fell there. But this December, the Anchorage school district announced it was pivoting from remote learning back to snow days.
The district made the announcement after Alaska’s education commissioner, Deena Bishop, suggested in a letter to the state’s superintendents that school districts reconsider remote learning, saying it doesn’t “adequately meet students’ needs.” The commissioner’s office did not respond to Education Week’s request for further comment.
Still, some parents in the Alaska school district were frustrated by the decision. Jessica Casperson, parent to elementary and middle school students, pointed out that Alaska’s summers are short already, and tacking on instructional days at the end of the school year will cut into them even further.
“When you are now adding on extra school days where we could have just been doing remote learning days, that really interferes with family time,” she told a local news station.
Meanwhile, Natalie Page, principal of Sesser-Valier High School in Sesser, Ill., said their area has been hit hard with snow and ice this week—hard enough to close schools for three consecutive days. They’ve all been snow days.
“We decided that going a few extra days at the end of May [to make up lost time] was worth it since our students learn best in person,” Page wrote in an email.
Not all administrators side with snow days
Not everyone’s on board with snow days.
Richard Bozza, executive director of the New Jersey Association of School Administrators, has long supported multiple efforts—first introduced by state policymakers about a decade ago, well before the pandemic—to allow schools to use remote learning days during bouts of inclement weather. A long-established state law that requires a minimum of 180 in-class instruction days per academic year stands in the way. (An exception was made during the pandemic.)
“It seems quizzical, almost whimsical. I don’t understand why this [legislation] hasn’t passed,” Bozza said. “We’re not suggesting that this remote learning is going to be used frequently. It’s just another tool that school district leaders can use to make responsible decisions in the best interest of students.”
Back in Colorado Springs, middle school student Emily Beckman perseveres in her quest to convert remote learning days back to snow days. To date, her petition has garnered 3,395 signatures.
Krystal Story, spokesperson for Academy District 20, said the district has long been reviewing its snow-day policies and, in November, distributed a survey to staff, parents, and students soliciting their feedback; it received more than 4,500 responses. The district is reviewing survey responses and hopes to make an announcement about snow-day policies soon, Story said.
