Superintendent of schools Thomas Scarice says:
After a frustrating morning, I want to share an update following today’s weather-related school closure, and explain the steps we’re taking to protect the end of the school year calendar.
Recommendations to End Student School Calendar on June 18
I will make 2 recommendations to the Board of Education, so that the student school calendar ends on June 18.
To keep the school year on track, I will recommend that the Board of Education take action at a short, 1-item meeting on Thursday at 7 p.m. to:
- Reduce the student calendar from 182 to 180 school days, and
- Make Friday, March 20 a regular student school day, moving the scheduled professional development day to Wednesday, June 24.
If approved, this plan would allow:
- Students to finish the school year on Thursday, June 18 (school is closed Friday, June 19 for Juneteenth.) and
- No changes to April vacation (barring additional cancellations).
To make sure this adjustment is workable and does not create avoidable disruption I communicated with most bargaining unit leadership (teachers, paraprofessionals, etc.) and First Student Transportation to confirm March 20 can become a student day without complications.
Assuming the Board proceeds with the agenda as planned and approves my recommendation, I will communicate the final decision to families as soon as possible after Thursday’s meeting.
School Closure Decision Today
As an aside, I provided the following information to a media inquiry related to the decision to close today. I share this information with you in the event you are interested.
“We began with a conference call with meteorologist John Bagioni at 4:10 a.m. The guidance at this time indicated that precipitation would begin in the 10 a.m.-12 p.m. window, likely on the early side. It also indicated that the cold air mass was not showing signs of moving out of the area as quickly as originally forecasted.
“I sent a message to families last night to provide prior notice of a possible early dismissal. Given the storm’s timing in the 4:10 a.m. update, an early dismissal would be problematic since it would put buses and drivers on the road during the worst of the snow/ice (early dismissal bus runs are from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m). Additionally, given the cold temperatures over the past few days, it was predicted any precipitation would freeze on contact.
“I communicated with our Department of Public Works to determine their capability to treat the roads so that buses and drivers could safely return home between 2:45 and 4:45 p.m., the window of our normal afternoon dismissal runs.
School buses are an important part of any closure decision. (Photo/Amy Schneider)
“Then the final email update came shortly after 5:30 a.m. I have pasted the part of the updated forecast from our meteorologist that led to the closure decision:
The overall atmospheric pattern has trended colder, and while much of the initial snow and sleet will likely fall at light intensities, the surge of warmer air at cloud level could allow bursts of moderate snow at times. Periods of snow and sleet will continue into the afternoon, but there should be a tendency for the snow to mix with or change to mainly freezing rain or freezing drizzle during the afternoon.
The immediate I-95 corridor may be able to nudge above freezing this afternoon, but the current cold air mass will only grudgingly moderate, and freezing or sub-freezing temperatures are expected across most of inland CT and interior eastern NY through the daytime period. And there is some support for freezing rain to continue in some areas well into the evening or early nighttime period.
At that time I decided to close school.
Thank you for your patience.
“Forget the mistake. Remember the lesson.” Winston Churchill
Jack,
Scarice is not Churchill. Westport is not London. A little early spring snowstorm in Fairfield County is not the blitz.
Dan (Woog, not Katz) deserves the Nobel Peace Prize if he can get you to tone down the hyperbole.
I’ve already been kicked off of FB. Please don’t make Dan revoke my 06880 privileges.
Thanks,
Buck
I have to laugh when I remember the years ago when school just got closed or remained open and no one felt the need, obligation or right to comment or complain. Boy are those days gone.
Hi Jan,
They sure are!!!
Are you any relation to Will Carpenter (SHS ‘70)?
He was a classmate of mine (since 4th grade) at Kings Highway School. Back then (‘62-‘64) you could count on universal complaining (among normal preadolescent males and some slightly abnormal females) if schools weren’t cancelled during a snowstorm.
Back in the early sixties, school attendance wasn’t as popular as it is now. I had a classmate (at Kings Highway) who rappelled down three stories to escape from school. Steve McQueen’s role in The Great Escape was modeled on his life except McQueen insisted that the escape utilize a motorcycle instead of a rope and the venue be changed from an elementary school to a German prison camp. Steve was too old to be believable as an elementary school student.
I attended a rather strict Catholic high school in Waterbury, CT- class of ’73. Our horrible principal, a miserable Catholic priest, did one smart thing. He never called a “snow day.” The nuns lived next door, so they would gingerly walk over in their habits and if any lay teachers showed up, that was it. As long as the school was open for 1.5 hours, it counted as a day (at least back then it did.) You could only hear cancellations on the local AM radio stations, and the announcers would declare “all schools are closed except for SHHS.” We took the public buses, which always ran, so we were able to get there for the most part. As a result, our school year, which began at the end of August, would end before Memorial Day. Those were the days- glad they are over, but I made life long friends and we made it through the “misery” and can laugh about it today!
I am not a meteorologist, but it was obvious from following the hourly forecast (on Weather Underground) that the very light snowfall projections (1.1″ or less, which it clearly was) would begin after the kids were in school and end around noon, turning to rain, well before the time they would have been leaving school. It was never going to get cold enough for freezing on the roads, which is presumably why Fairfield schools were open today.
Methinks this closing was because schools were open when we had a far worse forecast /and/ storm a week ago. It was a response to that uproar, not to the conditions on the ground.
(As an aside, I love Susan Iseman’s story!)
Chris, That’s interesting because I’m 240 miles south of you and school was canceled and there was ice on everyone’s windshield this morning! I agree with the Superintendent; better to be careful and cautious. It’s only a school day. He must have made the right decision. Were other schools closed?
I was raised in South Carolina, where the slightest threat of a flake of snow would shut the schools. We know better, here.
There was no ice anywhere up here. Fairfield schools were open and had no issues. Weston schools were open and had no issues.
Thanks! Such a crazy time.
More than 100 schools were closed today in the state of Connecticut. I just googled it. All schools in Norwalk were closed today due to icy roads!!
I met a friend in New Haven today for lunch at Pepe’s- it was a breeze – no issues at all. Glad I’m home now- no need to venture out tonight. I think it might be a bit icy if the temp drops, which it will. Stay safe!
Susan, Did you ever try “The Bar” for pizza? That was my favorite pizza place, and it’s across from Louis’ Lunch where the first hamburger was served in 1895. Both are on Crown Street.
No Jack, I may have been there, but not for ahbeetz. Pepe’s is our go-to place for their exquisite white clam pie! So many great eateries and events in New Haven.
Careful out tonite, don’t let your bowling balls freeze.
Buck…remember the daytime snow storm during our junior high days, when all the kids were dismissed with no busses in sight? Snow started after we got to school and came down in a fury. Most walked home or partied at the homes of people who lived close by.