More than 400 schools are closed as a result of the snowstorm that is hitting metro Detroit on Friday morning, but districts are only allowed so many snow days per year.
Over the last three weeks, we have seen a dangerous ice storm and a massive snowstorm before this one, and we're looking at what goes into the decision to cancel classes in one district.
Southfield Public Schools Superintendent Jennifer Martin-Green said closing schools is one of the most difficult decisions a district superintendent has to make.
She said their intent is to have students in school and make sure they are learning.
"However, their safety supersedes all decisions that we make. That being said, we look at the timing of the snow arrival. We look at the accumulation. We look at whether or not the roads would be safe for the buses to travel and for the families to be able to travel on the roads during that particular time to deliver our scholars to school in a safe manner," she said.
Martin-Green said so far, Southfield schools has only used two snow days, and she hopes this is their last.
However, she said superinten
dents have to rely on each other, and Southfield is contracted with a number of people to provide them with the most up-to-date information on the timing of the storms, the wind, and other factors.
Martin-Green said districts have also been allowed to be more flexible when it comes to snow days in recent years due to the change with remote learning.
“With the remote learning that was recently introduced due to the pandemic and some of the modern-day technologies, we are able to be more intentional with when we have to call a snow day and when we can pivot to that of a remote platform. So, we’re very fortunate in that snow days and the need to call snow days has been less that it has been in years past," she said.
