Parkway students, parents, and even the schools celebrate early news of a snow day

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV) - Schools across the St. Louis region are making the call to cancel classes for Wednesday ahead of a snow system tracking toward the metro that could bring a wide range of snowfall.

In the list of schools with students staying home is the Parkway School District in Chesterfield. It’s a big operation to get this district, with 17,000 students, to call off school.

That means when the school “makes the call,” more than 30,000 automatic calls go out to parents, guardians, teachers, and staff. Plus, some 50,000 emails as well.

The chance of a day off even had students trying to do their part.

“Flush ice down a toilet, throw it outside, sleep with pajamas inside out, and sleep with a fork under your pillow,” Liberty Fields, a fourth grader, listed off.

Some kids want a snow day, and others, like Fields, go the extra mile to make sure they get a day out of class.

“My mom tells me, ‘Oh, you don’t have school,’ because she’s always upset when we don’t have school,” Fields said, laughing.

River Bend Elementary students and teachers took to social media Wednesday, showing them crossing their fingers for a snow day. They got their wish, and by 4 p.m., many already had their snow day all planned out.

“Snowball fights,” Kindergarten student Elijah Inman said. “Where you have to throw snowballs at each other.”

“In the morning, they put the snow out to the side in the grass, so then my sister and I try to climb that and then dig in it.” Fifth grader Ishaan Duvey said.

It’s not just kids wanting to stay home. We found grownups who want a morning to sleep in.

“I say let the kids have the snow day. I mean, you know they are here five days a week,” parent Sarah Sueoka shared. “We don’t have snow all the time, so give it to them.”

“We’ll do some snow angels,” grandparent Anthony Williams explained. “I might go down Art Hill if she can talk me into it. We’ll have a great time!”

Parkway School District Director of Communications Annie Dickerson said snow days are here to stay for their students.

“I have work to do tomorrow regardless, but I can do that in my pajamas,” Dickerson said.

Following the COVID pandemic, the school district kept three snow days on the calendar for its 28 schools. Dickerson said once those are used up, students will stay home still but participate in virtual learning.

“All we care about at the end of the day is our kids and teachers are safe,” Dickerson said.

The Parkway School District said because of the snow the First Alert Weather Team is tracking this week, St. Louis County schools decided to make the call for a snow day early. Traditionally, if the Parkway school district will call off school the night before, that happens before 8 p.m., or it will be 4 a.m. the morning of the snow day.

The school district said it’s not just potential snowfall causing a snow day. Students are spread across several municipalities with different responses to weather events. Plus, staff are scattered across several counties where the weather could impact their ability to arrive for a school day.

At the end of the day, Fields heads home with a smile on her face saying the adults get an “A” for calling the snow day.

“We need a break from school,” Fields shared. “Just two days won’t work. We need other days to do other things.”

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