Snow Days

          Snow days, everybody loves them. But I think we need to take a step back and think about when we do and do not need snow days/two-hour delays. First of all, yes we need to be in school as much as possible regardless of weather, but when the weather conditions are bad making the roads hazardous there is a problem. And with young and inexperienced teenage drivers, these hazardous roads are even more risky. Of course every time a snowflake drops it is not necessary to cancel school, adding yet another makeup snow day to the end of the school year, but that’s why we have the alternative two-hour delay for conditions that could be hazardous on the morning commute to school.
          Typically I feel that we have snow days when we do not need them, and don't have two-hour delays when we do need them. Although it may be frowned upon because we live in Iowa, and should know what to expect during the Winter, I think that for sure the first decent sized snowfall of the Winter season should be a two-hour delay. The majority of Kennedy students have been driving in these conditions to school since they were either a Freshman or Sophomore, so should know how to handle this. But we need to take into perspective the younger students driving in snowy conditions for maybe the first time ever. There is of course the option of not driving to school and having a parent or adult drop you off at school, but not all students have that luxury and we need to think about stepping in the shoes of these students too.
           On days where we unfortunately cannot accomodate every student and have a delay or snow day with harzardous driving conditions, typically it causes many students to be late for school. Living in Iowa, drivers know that they must slow down to prevent accidents, and this can potentially double your traveling time depending on the intensity of the storm. I love that most of our teachers and administration are understanding of this and that they try their best to ensure that students can get into class even if a few minutes late to class due to driving conditions.