On one day when all schools surrounding Staples were closed, Superintendent Eliott Landon kept Westport schools open, much to the dismay of many students and local families.
Greg Bonti ’12 was disappointed because “there was a lot of hype about a snow day.”
Landon explained that fellow coastal school systems, such as those located in Greenwich, Darien, and Stamford, also stayed open. “The roads were in descent shape and there was no danger in people taking a bus or driving,” said Landon.
Rosie Levenson ’11 disagreed with the fact that the statement that the roads were drivable. “It is unsafe for students to be driving in snowy conditions to school because there are so many inexperienced drivers. Plus, it could be risky to drive home later, as well.”
Landon expressed that his prime concern is the quality of education that Staples students receive. “Instruction is our prime purpose in being. Every day that we deny that is a serious flaw in our undertaking.”
Yesterday, the Board of Education had a meeting in which it discussed the possibility of canceling April vacation due to the high amount of snow days so far. Although the school has already used up its built in calendar snow days, there is still a chance for more snow. Landon said that it is very possible that days will be taken away from April break, and depending on the number of snow days there are in the future, the vacation time may be completely canceled.
Yet, Spencer Adler ’11 does not want April break to be demolished. “I’m okay with there being school today because I do not want to miss April break,” said Adler.
Landon said that he must always announce his early dismissal decision by 10 a.m. “For today it looks that the snow has stopped in its entirety. But, we will continue to watch carefully.”
Nicholas Weiner • Feb 27, 2011 at 1:55 pm
Yeah Landon, taking away April break is suicide. The vacations students have booked in advance, college visits, you name it. In a snowy winter as this one, your best bet is to have school on Arena, or just accept the fact that there’s only 180 instructional days as opposed to 182. And if worse comes to worse, in today’s information age, why not have the students teach themselves a few things they need to know for the next test?
Skeptical • Feb 3, 2011 at 7:20 pm
I don’t think it’s going to happen. There will be a loud outcry, especially from the parents of Juniors and Seniors. April vacation is widely used for college visits. Landon very well knows this. Furthermore, vacations and such are planned far in advance. I can just imagine the problems that would arise.
Also, we may be two days above what was allotted, but Westport’s schools still have a few days over the state requirement. There are more productive days to get rid of than those during April break. I’m not sure if they’re required, but all of the teachers I’ve ever asked report that Staff Development Days are a complete waste of time. I believe there’s one coming up on the 28th.
… Won’t there be contractual issues as well? Hmmm…
Just one last source of skepticism — you might want to check over your writing. Some of the errors make me doubt this article’s credibility, even though I know I shouldn’t, given the website.