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New York City’s public schools will reopen on Tuesday after a major blizzard dumped over 20 inches of snow on parts of the city, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Monday afternoon.
“I hope our students enjoy their snow day today and stay warm and safe throughout, but I do have some tough news to share: School will be in person tomorrow,” Mamdani said. “You can still pelt me with snowballs when you see me.”
School officials said thousands of Education Department staff have been working around the clock to ensure schools are ready to reopen on Tuesday.
“We will make sure we’re down to asphalt and concrete sidewalks at every school,” said Kevin Moran, the acting deputy chancellor for operations.
It remains to be seen how treacherous travel conditions will be as nearly 900,000 public school students return to class. About 150,000 students rely on yellow buses, which often falter in normal weather. Officials said they are plowing and salting the streets, and school buses are expected to run as usual.
Monday marked the first traditional snow day in years when students and educators were not required to participate in remote instruction. Since the pandemic, schools have switched to virtual learning during extreme weather because the city has added holidays and has no wiggle room to cancel class while meeting a state requirement to offer 180 school days.
New York State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa offered waivers to districts that canceled classes on Monday. New York City was on break the prior week, complicating efforts to send devices home to students. New York City is now on track to have only 175 days of school. (The city counted four days of teacher training this year to meet the 180-day threshold.)
Many parents and educators cheered the traditional snow day, which gave students time to have fun in the snow. Some research backs up the idea that a small number of snow days are unlikely to harm student learning. Plus, attendance during virtual learning is often spotty, making it difficult for teachers to cover new material.
Still, snow days often pose challenges for working families who must scramble to find child care and may depend on schools to provide meals and other services.
Alex Zimmerman is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Alex at azimmerman@chalkbeat.org.
