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As forecasters warn that a winter storm could wallop New York City this weekend, the city’s schools will pivot to remote learning rather than cancel classes, if necessary.
With no room in the school calendar for a traditional snow day, schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels confirmed that the nation’s largest school system would go virtual in the event of a big storm — despite lobbying from his 11th grade son.
The National Weather Service is predicting snow on Sunday into Monday — though there is still uncertainty about the effect on the city. Some superintendents have already asked their principals to ensure they’re ready for a remote day and that their students have devices, according to emails obtained by Chalkbeat.
Samuels confirmed that schools would go virtual, if needed — even though the move is unpopular with many students, he told PIX11 on Wednesday.
It could be the first test of Samuels’ ability to manage a major logistical challenge, though he has a bit of a buffer: High school students as well as those attending 6-12 schools were already scheduled to be off for an educator professional development day. Parents of younger kids, however, tend to be the ones scrambling for child care, especially caregivers who must work in person. Many families also depend on schools to provide their children breakfast and lunch.
The last time schools closed in-person classes for a snow day, in February 2024, a technical meltdown prevented many students and teachers from logging on, despite efforts to practice in advance. The Education Department subsequently conducted another drill, but it was optional, and many students seem to have opted out.
Some principals said they felt ready from a device standpoint, but had concerns as to whether their families can or will log on.
“For us, most of the kids do some amount of learning on their devices in school, and we have 1:1 devices, so that part is manageable,” said one Brooklyn elementary school principal, who was not authorized to speak on the record. “Ensuring families and students get online from home and learning when they’ve been out of practice with remote learning for so long may be more of a challenge.”
In 2020, New York City schools stopped having traditional snow days since schools can instead offer virtual learning and need to squeeze in as many instruction days as possible as more holidays have been added to the calendar. The state requires 180 days of instruction, but allows certain professional development days to count toward that number, and because of that, New York City students are only in class 176 days this year.
Alex Zimmerman is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Alex at azimmerman@chalkbeat.org.
Amy Zimmer is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat New York. Contact Amy at azimmer@chalkbeat.org.
