One More Snow Day Before School Year Is Extended
Wong will recommend extending the school year rather than canceling vacation or opening on Saturdays if snow days continue.
It’s still early February in what has been a brutal stretch of weather and there has already been four snow days in Wellesley, leaving just one more before the school calendar has to be altered, according to Superintendent Bella T. Wong.
Assuming that last snow day is used, students will get out on Tuesday, June 21. If it is not used, the last day for students would be the day before, Monday the 20th.
But things get a little dicey if the snowy winter continues and several more school days are cancelled.
Wong said the options would be to make-up days during February or April vacation, open school on Saturdays to make up the time or extend the school year to make sure students attend the required 180 days.
Wong said her recommendation would be to extend the school year.
In any case, she said the June 3 date for high school graduation is set in stone.
“No matter what, graduation day will stay the same, there will be no change,” she said.
The snowy weather has also kept the school custodians busy.
Wong singled them out for recognition at last night’s School Committee meeting, along with van and bus drivers who successfully maneuvered through the stormy conditions last week to get all the students to and from school safely.
The custodians, however, have the unenviable task of making sure paths to and from the schools are shoveled.
“We all go home, but the custodial staff, they stay and they clean. It’s heavy, physical labor,” she said.
In addition, they have been making sure the school roofs are clear of ice and snow.
Wong said all the roofs have been inspected and cleared to safeguard against the possibility of collapse.