Perplexing Postponement

We really shouldn’t even be at school today.

As most of the MLWGS community is aware, Friday March 13 was originally scheduled as a teacher/student holiday. That was before the Great March Blizzard of 2009 paralyzed the Richmond region. When we returned from our three blissful snowdays, MLWGS administration decided to “postpone” our March 13 holiday until Memorial Day.

The rationale for the postponement was simple. Our calendar contains four “built-in” emergency/snow days. Although we have only used up three days so far this year, administrators were worried that some sort of wild spring storm could pop up.

Thus expending our last “built-in” day and requiring even more time, thereby pushing the calendar into the red. Doesn’t it seem a little silly to worry about some kind of weather-related incident with three months left in the school year? In the past three years we haven’t used any of our four cushion days.

Additionally, the student handbook’s snow day policy (below) shows no mention of pre-cautionary snow make-up days. Instead, it only defines the procedure for making-up snow days if the tally for any given year surpasses four.

Surprisingly, MLWGS was not alone in its decision to replace a pre-scheduled holiday with a snow “make-up day.” In fact, Goochland County Superintendent, Dr. Linda Underwood, also a MLWGS Regional Board member, voiced similar concerns in a recent Richmond Times-Dispatch article (see quote at right).


Make-up (Snow or Other Missed Instructional Days)

Days 1-4 are built in as banked time.

January 30 (if 5 days are needed)

February 18 (if 6 days are needed)

April 11 (if 7 days are needed)

Extended Day (if 8-9 days are needed) Classes start at 8:30 A.M.

June 16 (if 10 days are needed)