As a kid, waking up to your parent saying school was cancelled due to snow was one of the best things that could happen. We would bundle ourselves up and head out into the bitter-sweet cold with our little sleds and speed down the hills in our town, leaving a trail of tracks behind us.

Now, in high school, snow days mean a completely different thing for students who have to walk or drive to school. With cold temperatures and wintry conditions, Lincoln Public Schools (LPS) cannot guarantee that every student is provided with the correct supplies and clothing to shield themselves from the cold biting at their skin, which could lead to frostnip, a mild form of frostbite that still has painful symptoms.

As for students that drive to school, many are venturing for their first time onto slick roads without any idea what it is like. With teenagers being the highest of all age groups to crash a car, this leads to potential accidents on the way to school or leaving school. In a poll of over 265 LSE students, 97% of them voted that snow days benefit their safety.

One of the many things that students and parents have issue with when it comes down to making the decision of whether or not we do have a snow day is when it is announced. In another poll, 90% of LSE students would prefer that LPS posts about the cancellation of school the night before. In an article on the LPS website, Superintendent Dr. Steve Joel  says that it is his goal to make the decision, at the latest, by 5:30-6 a.m. the morning of the potential cancellation. But for many students, including members of LSE’s dance team – the Shirettes, this is not early enough as they have practice at 6 a.m. If the snow day isn’t called until 6 a.m., the team won’t be informed early enough and will end up leaving their houses in dangerous conditions. This also goes for students who have to leave early to walk to school or have other early morning activities.

So what exactly goes into deciding if there will be a snow day or not? In Joel’s address in the Snow Day Policy article, he stated that the most important thing in deciding a snow day is the safety of the students and staff of LPS.

Dr. Joel, however, does not rely on weather forecasts to inform his decision. Rather, he uses current existing weather conditions.

This had a huge impact on our community and caused parents and students to flood LPS’ social media pages with angry comments about the ‘lack of care’ that is shown towards their children. Some have posted that they will keep their kids home themselves.

LPS has five free days each year for the use of weather cancellations without having to add time to our normal school days. They don’t these days enough. As we have moved through this winter, we have only had one snow day and many unsafe drives to school, putting our students in danger. So what does LPS need to do? Do we need to pay closer attention to the opinions of families?

I think that more could be done to analyze the weather conditions and provide an earlier decision on whether or not we do get that day off. Taking a look at weather forecasts wouldn’t hurt the decision, as well as continuing to monitor current conditions.