It's Snow Longer Much Fun

If you have kids in school, chances are you’ve had your share of weather-related conversations in the past month or so. With the answer to the most popular question asked by New England schoolchildren in the winter--“Is there school tomorrow?”—a resounding ‘no’ five times already this winter, it’s virtually impossible to stop talking about the white stuff, for parents and school administrators alike.

The scope of these conversations is as varied as families’ differing situations. For some parents, another day home with the kids might be viewed as an opportunity to bond over hot chocolate and board games; for others, though, the glut of days off means last-minute scrambling for childcare and the hope for understanding from employers.

By the end of January, Acton schools had already been closed four times, the most in years, according to a memo posted on the district website on Jan. 27 by Superintendent Stephen Mills. Then came the one-two hit on Feb. 1 and 2 that forced an early release last Tuesday and another school cancellation Wednesday and seemed to push even the best of sports into declaring that enough is enough.

Mother of four Jennifer Keefe can relate to that feeling. With a part-time job, an internship, and school classes of her own, Keefe said the repeated school cancellations have made life “anxious” for her and her children, who attend R. J. Grey Middle School and McCarthy-Towne Elementary School.

“I feel like I’m walking a tightrope and there’s no room for error,” said Keefe.

And while some older students might relish sleeping in and the chance to complete some missed assignments on the snow days, Keefe said her kids are “just done with them.”

“They’re so bored at this point. They’ve played every board game, every video game, and we’ve made cookies and done all that stuff too,” said Keefe. “It’s just not fun for them at this point.”

As well, Keefe’s would-be graduation from a dental assisting program at Minuteman Technical High School was postponed during last week’s snowstorms, and it’s unlikely that her family will be able to attend on the rescheduled date.

But despite the inconvenience each snow day has brought her and her family, said Keefe, all balancing acts are relative.

“I definitely scramble but I don’t know how people who work full-time get through it,” she said.

One such parent, Erica Molloy, has relied on a flexible daycare situation to help her cope with the school cancellations and their surrounding uncertainty. With a kindergartner at McCarthy-Towne, a 3-year-old at the APS preschool and a baby, said Molloy, “It’s tough when (all three kids) are in different places.”

But as luck would have it, she said, her baby’s daycare allows her to leave her older two children in the event of school cancellations.

That flexibility “has saved me from major inconvenience,” said Molloy, an engineer who works four full days each week. “Otherwise (the snow days) would have been a total nightmare.”

For their part, administrators say they’re staying focused on keeping level heads and coping with a situation beyond anyone’s control—and when possible, seeing the positive.

“For the high school the snow days came at the end of the first semester and necessitated changing the last day of the term and the dates of the midyear exams,” said Kay Steeves, student/faculty support coordinator at Acton-Boxborough Regional High School, in an email. “That caused work for administrators and teachers, but on the flip side, students may have had more time to rest up and study for the exams and many teachers spent the snow days catching up on grading.”

Parents’ concerns over how the surfeit of days used will impact the rest of the school year, as well as speculation in the media about cancelling school vacation weeks to make up for snow days, prompted Mills to post the letter on the website, which states, “I fully understand that many of you plan months/years in advance for family vacations during those weeks so I have no intention of recommending to the School Committees that either of those vacation weeks be canceled.”

Another oft-repeated sentiment during snowy winters--“They’ll they be in school until July!”-- won’t happen either, but it could come close. The current cancellations have pushed the last day of school until Tuesday, June 21, according to Mills’ letter, which states that “(Acton schools) are required by law to have 180 school days that must be completed by June 30, the end of the fiscal year.”

In the event that enough snow falls to push school until that date, at least one family in town will be reluctant to play by Mother Nature’s rules.

“We don’t know when school will end or when summer vacation will start but we’ve already paid for our vacation (at the end of June),” said Keefe. “And we’re going.”

If you should find yourself in further conversations about the weather in the coming days, they will likely involve the fact that snow is called for again later this week. But how that will impact the school schedule, of course, remains to be seen.