Snow Days Create Tensions for Parents and Schools

The winter season in Creve Coeur season has been severe. The ice, sleet, and snow has become tedious and even more importantly, dangerous. This extreme weather has stranded some parents at home with restless kids; school closings have left other parents scrambling for last minute daycare.

The West County YMCA provides fee-based child care on snow days for Parkway students in grades Kindergarten through fifth grade. Care is provided at Bellerive Elementary School in Creve Coeur and Wren Hollow Elementary School in Ballwin. Registration must be done in person at the YMCA for three day blocks, so parents have to plan ahead. No registrations will be accepted over the phone or at the school sites. The cost for care is listed on the YMCA website.

Cheryl, a Creve Coeur resident and parent, says “The worst part is all the dishes because I am cooking every meal. I work from home, but I have not called clients with Disney in the background... I love having my daughter here, it is fun, we are having a blast.”

Parkway officials built three inclement weather days into the schedule, which do not need to be made up. As of Thursday, Feb. 3, seven school days have been canceled. There are five built in make up days on the Parkway calendar. According to Nicole Evans, principal at Craig Elementary, make up days designated on the 2010 - 2011 school calendar begin with possibly April 29th, a previous staff development day. The last day of school was scheduled to be May 26, but now may be extended.

The decision to stay closed into Thursday generated almost 100 comments of discussion on the district's Facebook page. Some questioned why the entire district had to be off if conditions in some areas were better than others. According to Parkway officials, the priority is student safety, always erring on the side of caution. To determine if school closings are in order, the director of transportation, the superintendent and other administrators check road conditions firsthand by driving through the district. Closing criteria for the schools are weather predictions, conditions of secondary roads, black ice, as well as highway department reports. Additional factors are high school students who are inexperienced drivers as well as younger students may have to walk on the street in the line of traffic. These considerations contribute to the decision to close the district schools.

Principal Evans said, “The staff wants our students to be safe, but we miss the days with the students. Just like winter breaks and summer breaks, it sometimes takes them a few days to get back in the swing of things, so to speak. With such a high focus on student growth and achievement, we as a staff worry about meeting the needs of students and what the lost time could mean to some of our students”.