Mayor Mamdnani has announced New York City’s first full school snow day — with no remote learning — in years for Monday in anticipation of a major blizzard.
The mayor made the announcement on social media Sunday, posting a video of a FaceTime call between him and an eighth-grade girl named Victoria who attends public school in Brooklyn. “Oh my God, it’s the mayor,” the girl yelped.
“We’ve got a full snow day tomorrow. No online school, no remote learning. Full classic snow day,” Mamdani told Victoria.
“So my only ask to you is that you just stay safe, stay indoors during the height of the storm. Once that has passed, feel flee to go out and sled.”
The decision comes as the city braces for a possible 18 to 22 inches of snow, with the severe weather rolling in about 9 p.m. Sunday.
Tomorrow is the first traditional snow day in the years since the advent of remote learning during the 2020 COVID pandemic.
Mamdani asked the state for a waiver of its requirement that the school year include 180 days of instruction and the state granted it.
The teachers union backed Mamdani’s decision.
“Having a traditional snow day is the right decision,” Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers, said in a statement to the Daily News.
Mulgrew sent the following message to UFT members:
“The UFT and the city spoke to the state and asked for a waiver on the 180 school day policy due to the upcoming emergency weather situation,” Mulgrew said. “New York State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa granted the waiver for several reasons including the fact that a travel ban will be in effect in the city, and that students and staff are unlikely to have the equipment they need for a day of remote learning.”
City public school students were off last week for mid-winter break and so didn’t have a real opportunity to connect with the technology and classroom materials needed for remote learning. officials said.
