“Due to inclement weather, the Glen Rock Public School District will be closed on…” Are possibly the best words to hear on a freezing school night. Snow days are highly anticipated pauses amid the pressures of everyday life. Glen Rock High School currently has two snow days in its 180-day year. That is sufficient given existing snow management systems and the risks of lost class time.
Glen Rock’s snow is handled by the Municipal Services section of the Department of Public Works. Glen Rock operates on a manageable scale, allowing snow to be cleared efficiently. The sooner high-traffic roads are cleared, the sooner schools can reopen. The organization in place has a hierarchy of prioritization: primary roads are cleared first, followed by connector streets and residential roads. Additionally, residents are advised to keep vehicles in their driveways during storms and to wait until streets are plowed before shoveling, ensuring complete access to streets and minimizing replowing.
Some may argue that snow days are a vital mental health break and that having more would benefit student wellbeing. Frankly, this concern seems to signal a larger issue of academic stress. They provide a guilt–free break without the academic consequences of a typical absence. In a nationwide survey of 21,678 U.S. high school students, researchers from the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and the Yale Child Study Center found that nearly 75% of the students’ self-reported feelings related to school were negative. This suggests snow days provide solace for stressed students, though increasing them would not solve the issue. In Glen Rock, extra snow days are added to existing holiday breaks. Part of a snow day’s allure is that it comes during the coldest, darkest time of year. The mental health argument for increasing snow days does not solve the issue long term, as students would still return to academic pressures the following day.
Closing school temporarily for weather conditions is expected. While a day or two has little impact on academic performance, excessive snow days can be detrimental. Being in class regularly and establishing a solid routine is one of the most proven indicators of high performance. For instance, data from the Rhode Island Department of Education shows that chronically absent students perform significantly worse on state assessments, with only 10% proficient in math and 13% in reading for 2024. Increased snow days could also weaken the authority of consistent attendance if closure thresholds are lowered. Students would be in class less and may take skipping school less seriously. Combined with the significant negative feelings associated with school mentioned in my previous paragraph, this could easily lead to a rise in recurring absentees.
Although snow days provide a valuable mental health break, two per year is enough. Glen Rock has adequate resources to manage inclement conditions, making an increase of allowed closures unnecessary and potentially harmful to overall school attendance. The main counterargument of mental health concerns is valid yet misplaced, as the appropriate response is not overreliance on weather determined breaks. Ultimately, excessive snow days prove that more of a “good thing” is not always beneficial.
