Picture this: It’s 5 a.m. on a cold and snowy morning, and the roads and sidewalks are covered in ice. Students and staff wait anxiously in their homes to hear whether or not the district will call the day off, only to find their notifications empty. With no cancellation, they pack their things and start a long trip to the school. 

Snow day policies have been used by the district for years to either delay or cancel school days due to poor weather, protecting staff and students from driving in possibly dangerous road conditions. 

According to DCSD’s Weather Delays and Closures page, when it’s forecasted that a storm is approaching, the DCSD Snow Team monitors the weather and enforces necessary precautions. 

If the Snow Team decides that the conditions are safe, the schedule carries on as normal, but if  parents/guardians of a student decide they don’t feel comfortable sending their student to school due to road conditions, then the student’s absence will be excused and respected.

In the event that the Snow Team and superintendent decides a school closure is necessary for the safety of the students, then all the DCSD buildings will be close, including sports and activities that take place within DCSD programs. 

Besides full closures, DCSD can also announce 90-minute delays, in which all district schools begin 90 minutes after regular start times. In such cases, bus routes are also delayed along with before-school care (BASE). Updates on any closures or delays are announced on the DCSD Website, emails, and a variety of social media platforms.

In order to make these decisions, the Snow Team follows a list of requirements in order to decide the precautions necessary. These policies include the conditions of the roads, such as ice and slick snow which can cause possible danger to bus drivers, if the temperature drops below freezing, or there’s a decrease in road visibility. Under these circumstances then delays or closures are likely.

Another variable is that DCSD must meet Colorado’s state-mandated annual instructional hour requirements, which translate roughly to 54,000 minutes for grades 4-8 and 64,800 minutes for high school. Additionally, any closures or delays will be taken into consideration.

Some students prefer a snow day over trudging or driving against the harsh conditions, especially when those conditions are a risk to their safety. 

“It’s hard to walk on the ice, and I get mad sometimes, ” Steve Abrams ‘26 said. 

For other students, the snow isn’t just a risk just to them but also to their loved ones, especially when they are being driven to school. 

“It’s hard for the bus to drive and for my nana and poppy to drive,” Abrams said. 

Since some students live further away from the school , driving is another challenge that they would have to face.

“It’s a slippery road, and there is a lot of traffic, so when I got to school, there were, like, 1,000 cars standing in the queue. So we get there at 8,” Divina Jacob ‘28 said. 

Some staff members believe that the lack of snow days is a positive thing, keeping class curriculum organized and avoiding future make-up days. 

“Your whole calendar is harder if you lose a day and have to move things around,” math teacher Tianna Pytte said.

For some teachers, the change in curriculum planning may be inefficient, or take away some of the depth from certain lesson plans. 

“I would have had to cut things out, or just squash it all together and make people learn at home,” math teacher Austin Bennett said.

However, for the teachers who live further from campus, snowy conditions increase the possibility of showing up late to class. 

“Last semester, there was a good example of them (DCSD Snow Team) needing to change their mind,” science teacher Amy Hommel said. “Because at 5 a.m., I looked outside and I’m like, there’s no snow. By the time I got out of my house, it started dumping and it took me an hour and a half to get to school when it normally takes me 20 minutes.” 

One of the major topics of concern regarding snow days and the DCSD Snow Day Policy is remaining under the Snow Day quota. The current DCSD quota for snow closures is a maximum limit of five missed days a school year. The front office administrators are versed with said quota and have been keeping up with it consecutively, every school year. Some years are worse than others, depending on the weather trends for each winter season. 

“So far, we’ve had such a mild school year, [and] if anything, on Friday, it could’ve at least been a delayed start. However, I think it was a good call. We only have a certain amount of [snow days].  I believe it’s five, but we didn’t go over. I don’t think we’ve ever gone over our quota,” Front Office Administrator Maxine Coppage said.

Snow days continue to be a controversial topic for students, teachers, and staff due to lesson planning, road conditions, and school schedules. By educating themselves on the ins and outs of the DCSD snow policies, the community can better prepare themselves for future snow days, delayed starts or different routes to campus.