Are snow days melting away? Not all Hampton Roads students had off Thursday

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Not all students in Hampton Roads got a snow day on Thursday. Some had to get up and log onto class!

13News Now heard from a lot of parents about this decision. Virtual learning methods are changing the way school divisions view traditional snow days.

Virginia Beach parent Amanda Luck and her daughter Michaela had their fingers crossed for a day off.

“Seeing that Facebook post, that text message and phone call, and I’m like, 'You’ve got to be kidding me,'” Luck said.

She was one of hundreds of parents on the Virginia Beach Public School Facebook page voicing disappointment that virtual class was still in session Thursday.

“If they were going into the school, this would have been a complete shutdown,” Luck said.

Some Beach parents decided to give their kids the day off anyway.

“I think that maybe now we have kind of lost snow days forever,” said parent Crystal Saunders. “I hope that’s not the case. That is something I cherish from my childhood.”

Divisions were split on the decision. School divisions currently meeting for some in-person classes -- like York and Chesapeake -- closed for the day.

“It was a nice break to get out, play, run and throw snowballs,” said Chesapeake mom Megan Roten.

Other divisions doing all virtual instruction right now, like Virginia Beach, Suffolk, and Portsmouth, decided to stay open and online.

The Norfolk School Division is also all online currently, but decided to close. Officials posted on Facebook that they were concerned high winds could cause power outages. Hampton and Newport News were already off for teacher workdays.

Are snow days melting away? Officials with the Virginia Department of Education said not yet.

“School divisions are required to provide 990 clock hours of instruction,” said VDOE Director of Media Relations Charles Pyle. “Can that be done virtually? Well, yes. What about snow days? It is not as simple as flipping a switch.”

Pyle said prior to offering remote instruction on an inclement weather day, school divisions should consider the following:

• Have power and other required utilities been impacted or are they still widely available throughout the division?
• Do all students have devices and/or other supplemental supplies necessary for successful engagement in the content?
• Have the road conditions impacted a parent or guardian’s ability to provide or arrange for childcare, which may be a prerequisite for participating in remote learning?
• How will the division provide any support services required for students with disabilities?
• How will the division maintain school meal services for eligible students? Divisions will need to consider their current service delivery model - i.e. National School Lunch Program or Summer Food Service Program - and relevant conditions.

He said right now this choice is only available to division officials for the 2020-21 school year.

“For now, at least snow days are very much with us,” Pyle said.

Luck still made sure her daughter built a snowman. She hopes for at least one official snow day for Virginia Beach in 2021.

“They just need a day because it has been a crap year!” Luck said.