Snow days for New York City public school students may not be dead, after all.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani – who has fond childhood memories of sledding with friends during wintry days off from school, once even getting a concussion – hinted Thursday he may revive the old-fashioned snow day for kids.
Snow days were thought to be extinct in New York City schools due to the rise of remote learning, as well as the growing number of cultural holidays on the education department’s calendar. The mayor’s remarks came as most of the Eastern United States braced for a major weekend snowstorm.
“I will tell you as of now, we have not yet made a decision as to what Monday will be, and we are going through every different aspect of the impact of a possible decision,” Mamdani said at an unrelated press conference at Woodhull Hospital.
He said he hadn’t decided yet whether classes would be virtual if schools have to close.
“Snow is an incredible amount of fun for so many young people across the city. We also want to make a decision that we know is the right decision to make, not just in the immediate, but also in the medium and the long term, and is part of a larger policy,” he said.
That seemed to contradict Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels, who on Wednesday said a snow day would have to include remote learning.
While no final decision has been made, Samuels said he expected students would have to attend classes remotely, rather than go play in the snow like in the good old days. “We’re going to be doing virtual learning,” he said in the interview with PIX11. “It’s very hard to decide to close schools.”
But after Gothamist began asking questions about the seeming contradiction, spokespeople at the education department and City Hall referred reporters to the mayor’s most recent statements that the matter was still under consideration.
Snow days went the way of the woolly mammoth during the pandemic, following the debut of systemwide remote learning. Then-Mayor Bill de Blasio pronounced them “a thing of the past,” disappointing many schoolchildren.
City officials have acknowledged that a tight calendar packed with cultural holidays – and start and end dates required by the teachers’ union – has made snow days nearly impossible. The state requires 180 instructional days per year, a threshold the school system has just cleared in recent years, often by counting professional development days towards the tally.
“That’s one of the benefits of having the remote day. This is not a day off,” then-Schools Chancellor David Banks said in 2024.
Education department officials confirmed that this year’s calendar includes exactly 180 instructional days – without a snow day.
Remote learning during the snow has been glitchy in the past, with many families unable to log on during the first major remote snow day post-pandemic in 2024. The school system then held a practice day the following June, though many families said they didn’t participate.
On Monday, many middle and high school students already have the day off so their teachers can participate in professional development. School is supposed to be in session for elementary schoolers and some middle schoolers.
Mamdani said some of his favorite childhood moments were snow days, including the time he was playing in the snow with friends, hit his head and went to the hospital.
“I was supposed to be on the back. We hit the jump so well that I ended up being in the front and then my friend landed on my head and I got a concussion and I went to the hospital,” he said. “And I turned out mostly OK.”
The forecast remains uncertain, but authorities are urging New Yorkers to be prepared for a foot or more of snow. Forecasters have said the storm may start late Saturday night, with the heaviest snow predicted Sunday, potentially affecting Monday’s commute.
“As we prepare for a snowstorm this weekend, the safety of our students, staff, and school communities remains our very top priority,” said education department spokesperson Nicole Brownstein. “Over this weekend, we encourage our families and school communities to follow guidance from local authorities and weather reports and sign up for NotifyNYC texts for real-time updates from New York City Emergency Management. … We will continue to update our school communities through texts, robocalls and other communications.”
Principals told Gothamist that the education department had asked them to make sure students had tablets or laptops so they could participate remotely from home if schools closed.
But some parents said they were determined to have an old-fashioned snow day no matter what officials decide.
“I’m fully planning to skip remote learning and planning to focus on sledding and baking cookies,” said Sarah Charlop-Powers, a Brooklyn mom of two.
Leigh Ross, a Manhattan mom, shared a similar sentiment.
“I understand that the city wants to keep kids engaged in school and learning, but I’m not enthusiastic about making my second grader sit down for a day of seemingly unnecessary remote learning. We get a couple of snow days a year now, if that. I just don’t see the harm in letting kids have a day off to play in the snow,” she said.
