Some D.C. teachers and parents criticized city officials’ decision to reopen schools for tens of thousands of students Thursday, forcing them to navigate snow-covered roads, sidewalks and parking lots.
D.C. Public Schools, which opened on a two-hour delay, was among a handful of districts in the region to hold classes Thursday. Most others remain closed because of lingering concerns about icy conditions.
Laura Fuchs, president of the Washington Teachers Union, said some teachers reported widespread absenteeism. At one elementary school in Ward 5, she said a teacher reported that 55 of the campus’s roughly 360 students showed up.
Traveling to schools was challenging, Fuchs said. Faced with unplowed lots and inaccessible street parking, Fuchs said some teachers resorted to parking far from the school and trekking across multiple intersections that hadn’t been cleared. Without parking spots, parents who normally escort their children to the school door let them out curbside.
Council member Wendell Felder (D-Ward 7) said in a post on X that sidewalk conditions show the city was not prepared to send kids back to school. “I recognize that not attending school presents its own challenges for children and their families, but safety is our utmost concern.”
City Administrator Kevin Donahue said D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) based the reopening decision on data showing 90 percent of block faces were “easily passable” by a two-wheel-drive sedan, while fewer than 2 percent remained “challenging,” or required more than a light plow to clear.
Donahue said officials were still tallying attendance data, and said the schools’ chancellor was considering whether absences will be excused. Donahue disputed claims of widespread dissatisfaction.
“There are also many families that were very happy with the decision and generally families that are happy may not communicate that as publicly as those who are unhappy,” he said.
At an event earlier Thursday, Bowser said that the city recognized there “may be some disruptions” as kids were returning to school, but applauded the Metro and school buses able to get kids there safely.
Bowser said two schools had heating problems Thursday morning that were resolved. Bowser said the city also was offering off-site parking and providing shuttle buses to help some teachers get to school buildings. Bowser said school parking lots should have been cleared overnight but said she would aim to get to any that were missed.
The slow cleanup after the winter storm — which many officials say was made more complicated by the larger than expected amounts of freezing rain — has frustrated many residents in the Washington region.
It’s also left families of school-aged children struggling to cope with them being home for much, if not all, of the week.
Alexandria City Public Schools was among a few districts that have offered virtual learning on some days this week. It will do so again Friday.
Elsewhere in the region, though, it will mark the fifth straight day of closures. In Montgomery County, officials said they also anticipate opening on a two-hour delay Monday.
Montgomery leaders said in an email to families that about 30 percent of school parking lots and bus loops had been fully cleared, with work on the remaining areas in progress. But they said contractors working on school properties are the same crews that help clear county, state and private roads, and that those deemed passable for cars still aren’t necessarily safe enough for school buses.
“Your road may be clear, but the staff required to operate your child’s school may live on a street that hasn’t been touched yet,” Montgomery officials wrote. “Simply put: no staff means we can’t open.”
Arlington County schools were already scheduled to be closed Friday. Fairfax’s district similarly had a scheduled staff development day Thursday and a teacher workday Friday.
“I want to thank our facilities and custodial teams for working around-the-clock to clear parking lots and sidewalks, and to check on school buildings so that we are ready to reopen when it is safe to do so,” Fairfax superintendent Michelle Reid said in a letter to families.
On Wednesday evening, the University of Maryland advised students who live on campus to consider returning home or relocating temporarily because of a lack of heat and hot water in residence and dining halls.
The university uses an exterior interim boiler plant for heat that officials said was experiencing challenges in the frigid temperatures. Officials said emergency generators have been added to help with operations.
By Thursday morning, heat and hot water were restored throughout campus, and building temperatures were returning to normal, the university said. Leaders said intermittent outages may still be possible, but they anticipate more stable and reliable conditions once temperatures return to normal.
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