Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) announced Monday afternoon that all schools and offices will be closed Tuesday after a snowstorm delivered up to 6 inches of snow to Montgomery County.
All activities, field trips and programs in schools and on school grounds, including child care programs and community use activities, are also canceled, MCPS announced Monday. Virtual learning is not available for this closure, according to the MCPS announcement at roughly 1:55 p.m.
Tuesday will mark the second consecutive snow day of the week for the school district. MCPS announced the first snow day on Sunday with a video of Superintendent Thomas Taylor singing a parody of “Don’t Worry Be Happy” by Bobby McFerrin with the lyrics, “Don’t worry it’s a snow day.” The video also included clips from students from Northwood High School and Col. Zadok Magruder High School.
The district called a snow day “due to ongoing dangerous winter weather conditions and the time needed to clear snow and ice from schools, roads and sidewalks.” School sites are also being prepared to provide emergency food services, and those locations will be identified and reported to the community early Tuesday morning, the email announced.
According to the National Weather Service, areas of Montgomery County received 4 to 6 inches of snow as of Monday morning. According to the National Weather Service, a second round of snow is expected to start by late Monday afternoon and last into the evening and drop an additional 1 to 3 inches of snow.
According to the 2024-2025 school calendar, the district has set aside two snow days, both of which have now been used. If schools are closed three or more days, possible make-up days include Jan. 29, March 31, June 6, June 16-18, June 20 and June 23, 2025. The last day of school for students is scheduled for June 13.
During the 2023-2024 school year, MCPS used its two scheduled inclement weather days, plus an additional snow day. The extra snow day required MCPS to create a make-up learning day that was asynchronous and included students completing packets of schoolwork. The asynchronous learning day received mixed reviews, with parents arguing that it was a “pretend school day” while others embraced the opportunity to help their students with classwork.
Public schools in the D.C. area have explored different calendar options for snow days. D.C. Public Schools didn’t put any snow days into the school calendar, The Washington Post reported, so snow days will be made up for the school district starting June 18. Fairfax County Public Schools, on the other hand, has 10 snow days built into the calendar, while Prince George’s County Public Schools have three inclement weather days, according to the Post.
According to the MCPS website, the district decides whether to close schools during bad weather by utilizing information from the National Weather Service, Accu-Weather and the news media as well as inspecting roads, school driveways and sidewalks throughout the county. According to the website, an evening decision to close schools will occur by 7 p.m., but if necessary, a morning decision can be made by 5 a.m.
The decision to close schools is always made for the entire school district, according to the website, because many students are transported beyond their home school attendance area.
The district has implemented color-coded school statuses, which include yellow signifying delayed school openings, blue representing early dismissal, red for school closures and orange noting “modified virtual instruction,” according to an email sent to MCPS families Tuesday.
According to the MCPS website, the district considers utilizing virtual learning on inclement weather days when the event impacting schools is predictable, it’s part of a multi-day scenario such as a blizzard or prior preparation, and communication has occurred.
