Friday morning, we awoke to a heavy blanket of snow in Clarkston.
As superintendent, my wake-up call comes earlier than most (around 4 a.m.) when I connect with our transportation and facilities directors, our North Oakland County network, the Road Commission of Oakland County, and even sometimes a meteorologist to make an informed decision.
Of all the decisions I’ve had to make this year, the decision to call a snow day on Friday was an easy one.
Not only did the road conditions merit a school closure, but collectively, we all could use a little “snow day magic.”
If you grew up in Michigan, you know there is nothing more exciting on a cold February morning than an unexpected day off!
Many happy memories are made on a snow day.
As of last Monday, all Clarkston Community Schools students enrolled in face-to-face learning returned to school buildings.
The reality of the world we are living in, even almost a year into the pandemic, is there are still new transitions to get used to.
Though we are all back together now, it is nothing like the last time we were together at school in March 2020.
So much has changed for our students and staff, and our success in this new learning environment demands so much of each individual person – consistent compliance to new safety protocols, flexibility, and tolerance, just to name a few.
I hope Friday’s snowfall provided a welcome break from the heightened sense of stress our students and staff have been under this year.
I hope they went sledding, built snowmen, took a walk, or read a book under a blanket. I hope they enjoyed a few hours of “snow day magic,” because even in Michigan, the chance to make happy snow day memories doesn’t come all too often!
Dr. Shawn Ryan is the superintendent of Clarkston Community Schools.