If you live in Michigan, you know all about snow. The wintery weather can make travel dangerous, causing school districts to cancel school in the name of safety. When Ruth and I taught in Plainwell, we looked forward to the occasional day off. Back then staff had to report unless we were told not to. I remember reporting one of the first winter days after Plainwell’s new middle school opened. I ran into one of the custodians and asked him how his day was going. His reply is burned in my brain. “This is a pretty good place to work when there’s no kids around.”
As soon as he said it, he had a revelation. “If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t have a job, would I?”
“None of us would.”
The first snow day I had as elementary school principal, I didn’t get the call. When I arrived, I was the only one in town. By then staff didn’t need to report. Not even the principal. I went in for most days as the absence of students and staff provided time for paperwork. I worked through many piles on those days.
My biggest concern when I landed the job as superintendent in Britton was calling a snow day. I was confident I could handle everything that came my way but living forty minutes from school meant I’d had to get up in the middle of the night to drive to work, check the roads, and make the call. I wasn’t looking forward to that.
On my first day I spoke to the transportation director, and he assured me he had everything under control. Calling a snow day was a part of his job description. “I’ll check the roads and give you a call. I’ll explain what I find, and we’ll go from there.” He described the elaborate system that was in place. Neighboring districts shared information and the Intermediate School District’s transportation director was in constant contact with the local school districts and the county road commission. Every snowflake that dropped was under constant surveillance.
A few weeks later the phone rang about 5:00 a.m. The call was for Ruth from the Adrian Public Schools. They were canceled so she just rolled over and went back to sleep. I turned on the radio and listened to a growing list of cancelations. I called my guy hoping to seek his guidance. He didn’t answer the phone. I called the Intermediate School District transportation director and learned the entire county, except for Britton, was closed. After several more calls, I discovered my guy had slept through everything.
He slept through that first snow day, but he never did it again, and we worked together for sixteen years. Once was enough.
When my school superintendent son, David, checked the snow-covered roads of his school district and determined they were too unsafe for travel, he often Tweeted a video of himself, explained the current situation, and he told his students to go to “the cool side of the pillow”. The students loved that direction. When you’re a kid, there are no sweeter words on a blustery morning.
The “cool side” meant everyone could sleep in and continue to enjoy their time in bed. It was a new beginning.
No matter how long I live, or how many snow days get called down the road, no call will ring louder than sophomore broadcaster Aiden Lynch’s call on February 21, 2023. It came at the end of my grandson, Brady’s, home basketball game. Aiden described the moment the district’s school superintendent, informed the students that there’d be no school the next day. Aiden Lynch’s call went viral. It was picked up and shared by a multitude of media outlets including Jimmy Kimmel, Good Morning America, Fox News, ESPN, Inside Edition, CBS Sports, dozens of local newspapers and television stations, and now my blog.
Google Aiden Lynch’s Snow Day Call or click on the link below. It’s all good stuff.
Hawkeye News – Our District – Hamilton – Stories (hamiltonschools.us)