School buses are crisscrossing county streets and students are steeling themselves for the first day of school in 11 days.
Yes, class is back in session this morning for Arlington Public Schools students, to the great relief of many beleaguered parents.
The decision to keep schools shuttered all last week, while piles of “snowcrete” covered the sidewalks (and in some cases, roads) near schools, prompted acceptance from some and grumbles from others. Why, some asked, had conditions around schools not been addressed earlier in the week, potentially making it harder to clear now?
The grumbles grew louder this week, amid Monday’s closure and today’s two-hour delay. Some questioned whether it’s even safe now for kids to go back.
“As of 7:30 A.M. there is no safe approach to Claremont Elementary or Wakefield High School from S Columbus St.,” local resident Joel Weger wrote this morning. “There has been no snow cleared on S. Chesterfield Rd for the entire length of school property. For Claremont snow has been cleared from only one side of the school.”
That was echoed by another local resident who lives near Wakefield.
“I’m not a parent but I see the kids walking to school everyday and parents taking their littles ones to the bus pick up spots,” wrote Julia Itani. “While walking my dog in the neighborhood there were many times I almost fell and we couldn’t walk safely. I can’t imagine students walking every morning while there’s piles of ice.”
Others suggested that a loss of learning outweighs what they see as marginal safety improvements from keeping schools closed longer. Even today’s delay was too much for some.
“I am writing to express my deep disappointment and continued frustration with the county’s repeated school closures and delayed openings due to snow and ice,” wrote Gregory Cohen, a “concerned and gobsmacked parent,” in an email this morning. It was one of several addressed to the County Board and School Board that ARLnow was CCed on in recent days.
“From a parent’s perspective, these decisions do not appear to be data-driven, outcome-oriented, or transparent. Delays in particular seem to accomplish little beyond creating unnecessary hardship for working families,” Cohen wrote. “A two-hour delay does not meaningfully improve road conditions, does not reduce childcare challenges, and often results in the same ultimate outcome: lost instructional time with no measurable safety benefit.”
What do you think — did APS strike the right balance by staying closed for five school days (Friday was a scheduled off day) and opening on a delay today? (Neighboring Fairfax notably took the same approach.)
Or should schools have opened up earlier? Or stayed closed longer? Let us know below.
