Arlington’s school system has 13 days built into the 2024-25 schedule to use as snow days or for other unexpected closures.
Whether they will be needed is an open question.
While having a few snow days is nice, “I don’t know that we’ll get all 13 this year,” Superintendent Francisco Durán said Nov. 14 as part a briefing for School Board members. (Before today’s picturesque but non-accumulating snowfall.)
Durán pointed to winter-weather forecasts for the local area, which vary widely.
The Capital Weather Gang of The Washington Post is forecasting a cumulative 10 to 18 inches of snow this winter season, while forecasters for various local TV stations peg it respectively at 4 to 10 inches; 6 to 13 inches; 10 to 20 inches; and 5 to 10 inches.
The Old Farmer’s Almanac, for those who live by its predictions, forecasts less-than-normal winter precipitation through the end of February. But it suggests there could be early-in-the-season storminess Dec. 11-16 and Dec. 28-31.
If Arlington’s school system exhausts its 13 days, the school system will switch to online learning for any other days when students and staff are at home. That will keep APS in line with minimum state instructional time.
As with last year, Durán aims to make snow-day calls by 6 p.m. the preceding evening, but that could be delayed to as late as 5 a.m. if there is uncertainty in the forecast. A later call also could be made if overnight conditions materially change.
For many years, Arlington’s superintendents were some of the most hard-nosed in the region when it came to wintry weather. The county’s schools often stayed open when those elsewhere shut down.
That changed after the school system got caught flat-footed during a storm whose intensity exceeded expectations and caused mayhem on the roads. Since then, Arlington typically follows other school districts in closing when even a hint of a disruptive weather event is projected.
“We need to make sure we’re keeping everyone safe,” Durán said.
