Snow days. Most students look forward to them, a chance to relax and decompress from what may be a stressful week at school. When the weather looks rough, yet school is not cancelled, it can be a cause for frustration for all involved. Some students may wake up early, refreshing their phones in anticipation of an announcement, only to find that school is still in session. Others might leave for school only to experience treacherous roads firsthand, leading to questions about how these decisions are made.
The decision is not made arbitrarily, however. It comes down to three people: Superintendent Daniel White, Supervisor for Buildings and Grounds Mike Critchfield, and Supervisor for Transportation A.J. Neitenbach. Each plays a crucial role in ensuring the safety of students and staff while balancing the need for instructional time.
The process typically begins with a text among the three, fostering discussion of the forecast for the days to come. With the unpredictability of Northeast Ohio weather, these discussions are often ongoing, sometimes spanning multiple days as storms develop.
“I work very closely with our Supervisor for Buildings and Grounds, Critchfield, and then of course, our Supervisor for Transportation, Mr. Neitenbach. We will text the day before, ‘Hey, have you seen the forecast for the next day or for the next two to three days? And what are we thinking?’” White said.
But a forecast is not always accurate, and the exact time, duration, and intensity of these conditions cannot be known until they happen. For this reason, the next step involves the three driving the roads, paying close attention to neighborhoods and backroads, which may not be plowed or salted until much later in the day. Their firsthand assessments provide valuable insight beyond what weather maps and forecasts can predict.
“A lot of times your main roads, Ira Road, Cleveland-Massillon Road, those are going to be pretty well salted. But then when you get off of those main roads and into the neighborhoods… you see that your road doesn’t look at all like Ira in the mornings. And that’s what concerns us,” Neitenbach said.
In addition to their personal scouting, they take weather advisories into account. “Oftentimes Winter Weather Advisories issued by the National Weather Service aid us in making the decision to call for no school,” Critchfield said. These advisories provide critical updates on potential ice, snow accumulation, and wind chill, all of which can impact the safety of students traveling to and from school.
However, a clear morning does not guarantee a clear afternoon, and the safety of those going home is an equally large concern. A storm could intensify as the day progresses, making dismissal even more dangerous than morning commutes.
“There was one day where we were kind of worried about what it would be like going home in the afternoon, or maybe the morning wasn’t so bad, but the afternoon looked like it was just going to be horrible,” Neitenbach said.
They take both student drivers and those who take the bus into account when making these decisions. Some students live within walking distance, while others rely on transportation that may not be able to navigate steep, icy hills or unplowed roads.
“If one bus goes in a ditch, you’re dealing with, you know, roughly 25 to 30 kids, maybe more not going to school, but getting put in danger. And the same goes for kids driving to school. If you got one kid going in the ditch, that’s putting somebody in danger that maybe we didn’t have to,” Neitenbach said.
An additional factor in play is the state of Ohio’s requirements for the length of a school day and school year. Ohio operates on an hourly system, requiring a school year to be at least 1,001 hours. Like many other schools, Revere takes on a longer school day than the required five hours, which allows for additional calamity days to be taken if needed.
“Most school districts go to school more hours than they have to, so there’s some leeway,” Neitenbach said. “But we also want to make sure we’re not using too many days too early in the year.”
After their discussion of the forecasts, scouting, and consideration of the rest of the day, the final decision is made by White. He takes into account all the information provided and weighs the risks before making the call.
All of these concerns are ultimately about safety, whether students who drive, get dropped off, or take the bus will be able to both arrive and depart safely. The group’s opinion on whether or not the weather poses a risk to student safety and transportation is a key point taken into account when White decides to call a calamity day.
