Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools recently announced that it has been over 1,000 days since the district has called a snow day. The last snow day for students was on Jan. 18, 2022.
Here's what to know about how CHCCS operates under inclement weather and how the district decides to call snow days.
When the district creates its calendar, they allot three days as inclement weather days, which encompass any weather event that could cause the district to close, CHCCS Chief Human Resources Officer André Stewart said. School-specific emergencies do not count towards these days, he said.
The district's decision to call an inclement weather day depends on the predicted possibility of wintry precipitation and its impact on academic instruction and transportation, CHCCS Chief Communications Officer Andy Jenks said.
“There are three elements that I like to look at when it comes to safety,” Stewart said. “I first want to look at student drivers. Then I want to look at buses and the safety of buses on the road and then thirdly look at our staff members and walkers and those types of things.”
There is not a certain level of precipitation that qualifies a snow day, as Jenks said even minimal levels can lead the district to err on the side of caution.
When the district declares a snow day, they may also call an optional remote teacher work day.
“An optional [remote] teacher work day means that our employees are still responsible for their tasks and obligations, but those can get done at home, rather than asking our employees to travel into work when we're already telling students that school is closed,” Jenks said.
On an inclement weather day, the district may choose to hold school virtually in order to fulfill the required amount education hours per state law.
