It’s no way to spend a snow day.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani put the freeze on any hopes of an old fashioned snow day Sunday, announcing that kids would have to attend remote classes because of Winter Storm Fern.
“Over the past week, my administration has prepared for this moment – ensuring devices are in hand, families are informed and educators are ready to welcome students online,” Mamdani said. “Our school system, and our city, is prepared to weather this storm together.”
The move will have roughly 500,000 public school students across 1,100 school facilities clocking into class from home with iPads and laptops on Monday. Charter schools that share public school facilities will also not be in session.
Students in high school and in the sixth, seventh and eighth grades will still have the day off, keeping with scheduled professional learning days.
Mamdani said that safety was the main concern when making the decision to close the schools and go remote.
“As snowfall begins to blanket our city and conditions become hazardous, closing school buildings is a necessary step to keep New Yorkers safe,” Mayor Mamdani said.
The mayor had already said that students wouldn’t have a “traditional snow day” when the devastating storm came barring down on the Big Apple.
“It’s not going to be a traditional snow day,” the mayor said at a press conference on Friday. “That is a determination we’ve made.”
Follow The Post’s live coverage on Winter Storm Fern
The mayor has the power to call a formal snow day and completely cancel classes for city kids, but students must have class for a state-mandated minimum of 180 days per school year.
With the addition of more holidays into the school’s calendar like Diwali, the Lunar New Year, and Eid, the mayor has less of an ability to pick and choose days to take off because of inclement weather.
“I know what this means for students,” the mayor said at a press conference on Sunday. “That’s why I’ve invited them to pelt me in the face with a snowball.”
But parents said the decision was just one more thing robbing kids of their childhoods.
“You guys sent my fourth grader and second grader home with computers,” griped one X user. “They don’t need to be staring at a screen on Monday.”
“I would like you sit on zoom with my second graders tomorrow to see how terrible this is,” said another.
“They can learn a lot more enjoying a snow day,” Tavis Moonan, 40, said while out sledding with one of his children in Prospect Park.
“I think the mayor’s time could have been much better spent this morning not recording a robo message to us about remote sessions that we’re going to have to be responsible for.”
But for parents who do get a snow day, like Hannah Fackler, 38, and Ryan Fackler, 37, getting a snow day can cause a whole host of other problems.
“We both have to work!” said Fackler, whose daughter Talia, 4, goes to private school.
“Everybody has to pitch together to handle snow days and working, so there is no easy way out.”
Meanwhile, students at the city’s largest charter school network will get to enjoy a full day of flakes.
In a text to parents, Success Academy Charter Schools announced they would close schools on Monday, throwing shade on the mayor’s decision to keep public school kids inside for remote learning.
“Unlike the district schools, we will not have remote learning. Instead, we hope you make snow angels, have a snowball fight, build a snowman, or just have your kids cuddle up with a book while enjoying the winter wonderland from the window,” the school administration wrote.
