Throughout the history of Andover, snow days have been a rarity. This has sparked quiet disagreement on campus about how to properly handle outside conditions, given that Andover is a school in New England with both boarding and day students.
There is not one particular policy for calling a school day off due to snow. Instead, a cross-divisional team takes many factors into account when deciding whether or not to call a snow day. Mark Leonard, Director of Campus Safety, described the process for deciding whether a snow day would happen, detailing how sports and campus conditions play a factor.
“Whenever we see something like [a storm] in the forecast, we have a group of people including myself, the Director of Facilities, the Human Resources Director, the Dean of Students [and Residential Life], the Dean of Studies, and others, and [we] talk about what impacts the storms [would] have on campus, and certainly how that would affect students and their ability to get around campus safely… If there are sports teams traveling, we’ll discuss if we need to cancel those games… [and] one of the big factors that goes into [keeping campus open] is the Grounds Crew’s ability to clear the campus and keep people safe,” said Leonard.
However, throughout the years, there have rarely been snow days. John Bird, Instructor in English, noted that snow days are quite a surprise at Andover. He commented on how administrators are less inclined to cancel school for the day, especially with the existence of Head of School Day in Winter Term.
“When I started here, there was a real kind of deep-seated idea that we wouldn’t have snow days, like the idea of a snow day was treated with a certain delusion. We’re in New England, so this is what we have to put up with. I think the only real snow day I can remember was about 12 years ago… Unlike public schools, we don’t get back [snow] days. So if we close, or have a few snow days in a row, public schools can make that up in June, but we’re never going to do that. So I feel there’s a real reluctance on the school’s part to have a snow day in that case,” said Bird.
Although a snow day can interfere with classes and sports schedules, Iz Ruiz ’25 spoke on how insisting on keeping the school open can put a particular burden on the day students who have to commute to campus. Ruiz explained that roads are often in poor condition during snow storms, which can place day students who don’t want to miss class in dangerous situations.
“I was driving to school and it had just snowed and it was super icy. I was also rushing to school to get there on time for class, and I swerved in the road… My brother was like, ‘Pull over, don’t go this fast, I would rather be late than have something happen.’ At times, it literally can be life-threatening… I think a snow day should count. I feel like the disparity between day student
nd boarders is something that makes me not want to take a snow day, I try to avoid it just because there’s this disadvantage between me not coming to school because of the conditions outside but these borders still get to,” said Ruiz.
Introduced during the pandemic, Zoom has been proposed as an alternative to in-person classes during snow storms. However, Bird expressed that Zoom classes might place another burden on the students.
“If we get hit with a blizzard, the kids in dorms are going to have to shovel. They still have to get to [Paresky] Commons for food, everything becomes more complicated. [Zoom classes] feels like, ‘Why give us all one more thing to do?’ Just take the day off,” said Bird.
However, despite the debate surrounding snow days, Michael Williamson ’25 expressed his enjoyment of playing in the snow.
“I live in sunny Santa Monica, California. Being from southern California, we do not get many of the elements whatsoever… I’m fascinated by the snow because it’s something that I haven’t really seen often. Building a snowman is something that’s pretty high up for me, as well as just walking. It’s a winterous splendor I don’t get to see very often, so I’m just cherishing that,” said Williamson.
