New York City students can forget about snow days. The Department of Education will stick with its remote learning plan when wintry weather hits — despite a series of glitches that befell the system earlier this year. “At least for this year, I can tell you that if you have a snow day, it will be a remote day,” Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos said during an event in Manhattan Tuesday evening.
Aviles-Ramos, who took over as head of the largest public school district in the country in September, made the announcement in response to a hopeful parent who asked about the possibility of snow days making a comeback. Close to 200 people, including students, parents, local leaders and DOE staff, attended the meeting at the High School of Graphic Communication Arts on West 49th Street — the launch of Aviles-Ramos’ planned “five borough listening tour.” “I’m not going to give you false hope,” she told the packed room.
The news didn’t sit well with some parents, including a Queens mom who called remote learning “pointless.” “We need a good old fashioned snow day,” said Keely Valk, whose children attend a school in Queens. “I personally don’t agree with taking it away and making them remote instead.
My children luckily weren’t at school during COVID but I find remote learning to be pointless.” The department’s remote learning plan hit a snag in February, when a massive snowstorm forced schoolkids online. At the time about 60% of parents who .