Snow Days

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When I became an administrator, I never imagined that one of my most stressful responsibilities would be contributing to snow day decisions. I thought, "What could be better than occasionally giving students and teachers a day off?" As it turns out, this decision is never easy, especially when making it for a fourth consecutive day in a row!

At Borgia, our president George Wingbermuehle and I make the decision together. Usually one of us calls the other when things look questionable and then we discuss. When there is twelve inches of snow on the ground, it's easy. He calls TV stations while I send an email and text to our families and staff. However, the stress comes when it is unclear how challenging the roads may be in some parts of town.

On the morning of Thursday, January 9, we were sure we could have school. We had just gotten an additional inch of snow (on top of our foot from the weekend), but we thought we could have school. The city of Washington was so quick to clean up roadways that morning. Mr. Wingbermuehle went driving around and he was certain we could have school. But, to be safe, we opted to have a late start.

Right away, we heard from a few parents living outside of Washington, and their roads were not good. Being a Ballwin resident, I then went out to leave for school, and the roads near my home were also treacherous. I live at the bottom of a big hill, and I could only slowly make it up the hill! Mr. Wingbermuehle and I called each other again, at this point, and we decided we had to call our fourth snow day in a row.

As the principal, I felt horrible. I have to be the academic leader of the school who pushes our students to learn. So, I didn't want to look like I was choosing to sacrifice their learning for "a little snow" on the ground. However, in the end, we think we made the right decision. By Noon, we could have all come to school. But, I hope we avoided some accidents in the morning by not driving in that new snow. 

A whole separate stress comes with choosing the days to use as make-up days...but that's a story for another day!

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