There's Snow Day Like a Snow Day

My mother having grown up in Lowell, Massachusetts and most kids living within walking distance meant it would take about 18 feet of snow for it to even occur to anybody to close school for the day. Meanwhile my brother and I grew up in the sticks, about 7 miles of winding country roads from school - anytime there was a mild flurry of snow the entire school system would shut down, which would drive our mother crazy. The best was one afternoon the principal saw a few flakes start up so he ordered us all to go home; but the time we were in the parking lot getting in our car the sun was back out. We of course pretended to not hear the shouts from the lobby to get back inside.

The Atlantic just posted an article about how different close closings are from state to state and their ramifications:

Many districts outline on their websites that a primary priority when considering a weather-based closure is the safety of students and faculty, but the ramifications of an unplanned day off extend past chilly toes and spilled cocoa. As Thomas Ahart, the superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools in Iowa, wrote in a note to district families, “I also consider the ripple effect a ‘snow day’ has on the entire community: not only for our 33,000 students and 5,000 employees but for tens of thousands of parents and family members, many of whom must go to work no matter the weather.” For many families, adverse weather conditions already make completing a day at work challenging; further deviations like school closures only add to the difficulties and stress of figuring out how to keep students safe and occupied. And on top of that, 94 percent of public schools offer breakfast to students, according to No Kid Hungry; when weather cancels classes, it also cancels a meal.

As you faithful fans recall, it was a snow day that led to the greatest basketball game ever played.