A look at how nearby counties are handling snow days from now on.

Students all across the world surely adore having some time off from school after a snowstorm. Schools have adapted to building snow days into the schedule, but things may be changing. Several counties near Loudoun County are making snow days distance learning days, rather than simply cancelling school.

Depending on each county’s location and climate, a prediction of the number of snowdays that may be needed is built into the school calendar. According to Change.org, “Loudoun County Public Schools has 15 snow days built into the schedule to make sure there aren’t days added on to the end of the school year.” On the other hand, according to Fairfax County Public Schools, Fairfax County allows for only five inclement weather days.

The week of Jan. 3, Northern Virginia amassed between three and eight inches of snow, resulting in Fairfax County Public Schools using all five of its snow days in one fell swoop. However, officials had prepared for such an event, as “FCPS [plans to] use the flexibility provided by the General Assembly to have unscheduled virtual learning days, wherever possible, to maintain continuity of learning [on snow days,] as stated by Fairfax County Public Schools.

Not only has Fairfax County made this decision, but Prince William County as well. In Prince William County “state test scores and grades fell significantly over the past year, and the division is in the process of implementing a plan aimed at recouping some of the learning loss last year through increased tutoring and instruction,” as maintained by Inside Nova. The question is: Will Loudoun County follow other counties’ lead in turning snow days into distance learning days? 

If Loudoun chooses to implement distance learning days instead of snow days, you’d think that many students wouldn’t be very happy. “I just want my day off from school to relax and do whatever,” said senior Julia Donovan. However, there are students who don’t think it would be so bad. “Teachers would probably just post a few easy assignments [that] could be done within an hour,” said senior Anya Datta.

There is currently no news of Loudoun County Public Schools making such a change, but it may be possible. Continuing education during a pandemic has certainly changed the methods of schooling forever. Most assignments are now online, so it wouldn’t be so hard to adapt to a few distance learning days. Hopefully, we are able to enjoy snow days as we always have, but times are certainly changing.