The announcement was most likely met with jubilation among children and trepidation among parents: There will be no school on Monday for New York City public school students, who will instead enjoy the city’s first snow day in nearly seven years.
With a winter storm expected to bring heavy snow and wind from Sunday night into Monday, city officials had been mulling whether to close school buildings but have students learn remotely. But because of the severe forecast — and because students had been off for the past week for the regular midwinter recess — the city decided to cancel class entirely.
“We do not believe providing remote instruction tomorrow would be effective,” Kamar Samuels, the schools chancellor, said at a news conference on Sunday.
Mr. Samuels noted that many schools have not had time to send devices home with students for remote instruction. He said canceling school “will also help us ensure that our staff and families who spent their break traveling are able to return home safely.”
Mayor Zohran Mamdani also announced on Sunday that nonessential travel would be banned on city streets until noon on Monday.
Deciding when to call for a snow day can be a tricky proposition for city officials.
State law requires New York City to have 180 instructional days, meaning that typically every unplanned day off must be made up later.
When a winter storm hit the city in late January, Mr. Mamdani disappointed some students by announcing a day of remote learning instead of a full snow day, citing the state requirement. (He said one enterprising student had even found an email address for his wife, Rama Duwaji, and sent her a message making the case for a snow day, to no avail.) Some children nonetheless skipped their online classes in favor of sledding and snowball fights.
Remote instruction, which became common during the coronavirus pandemic, can be hard for some parents who have to balance their own work with helping children log on to online classrooms.
During one winter storm in February 2024, for example, there were widespread technical problems during a remote learning day, prompting frustration.
Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers, said having a snow day on Monday was the “right decision.”
Troy Closson contributed reporting.
Mihir Zaveri covers housing in the New York City region for The Times.
The post New York City Public Schools Will Have a Snow Day on Monday appeared first on New York Times.
