Many schools had several day closures, with some remaining closed the entire week due to snowfall. Lake Stevens closed schools three days in early February.
During the closures, the conditions on roads and sidewalks were dangerous due to the several days of winter storms, leading to massive buildups of snow and ice.
This led to changes in plans for almost every teacher, as they had to move their plans around to fit the school closures. This also caused tests and quizzes to be delayed with only a short amount of time to figure out when to make it up.
The snow itself seemed late for the season during a fairly rainy winter, but a sudden surge of cold weather made conditions for sticky snow.
Students at LSHS were surveyed about their preference for closing school, two-hour late starts, or going to school for the full day.
“When it comes to snow days, I would prefer a full day off rather than a regular day or 2 hour late start,” junior Aubrey Lynch said. “I would rather have these snow days be made up in the summer, when it’s warm, instead of suffering through the school day being freezing.”
Out of those who responded, there are few who would rather keep the school day, so it doesn’t end up being added on at the end of the school year, while some don’t like the inconveniences that come along with a two-hour late start or day off, especially with programs like Sno-Isle.
“A 2 hour delay is extremely inconvenient for our classes at our own school. It also makes it harder for people who have others drive them since they don’t match schedules with the driver that day,” senior Lillian Blevins said.
On the other hand, there are those who believe that it can be used as a time to catch up or relax.
One student said that students tend to get stressed with things like homework tests and quizzes, and emphasized that the break is very much needed.
A study done by Joshua Goodman from the Harvard Kennedy School found that keeping schools open during bad weather could be more detrimental to students than having the school closed for the day.
“With slack time in the schedule, the time lost to closure can be regained. Student absences, however, force teachers to expend time getting students on the same page as their classmates,” the study said.
