UPDATE 5 p.m. — FCPS ANNOUNCED A TWO-DELAY FOR WEDNESDAY, JAN. 16.
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) announced a two-hour delay for Tuesday, Jan. 15. After bracing a winter storm all weekend, students face the dangers of returning to school under unsafe weather conditions.
Snow fell on Jan. 12-13 throughout the DMV area, with some areas receiving almost a foot of snow. McLean received just over 6 inches, as of 1 p.m. on Jan. 13.
As the county continues to advance efforts to clear roads, students and faculty who drive or walk remain at risk due to slick and icy conditions.
“Yesterday, I tripped and fell on my driveway after hydroplaning on the way home,” senior Noor Al-Saloum said. “This morning, I noticed that there were piles of snow on the roads, even on Davidson. These conditions are extremely dangerous and put both the students and McLean residents at risk.”
Many students hoped for a closure, subtweeting at-large School Board Member Ryan McElveen with Tweets reading #CloseFCPS.
“Arlington County didn’t have school and a lot of neighborhoods are still blocked in,” junior Justin Dehghan said.
This afternoon FCPS announced that all school facilities will close early due to the anticipated refreeze of roads this evening; thus evening activities must be completed by 6:15 p.m. or canceled.
The following schedule changes adhere to:
Extracurricular activities
Interscholastic contests
Team practices
Field trips
Professional learning and training courses
Adult and community education classes
Recreation programs and community use by outside groups not affiliated with FCPS
“Schools should be canceled tomorrow,” Al-Saloum said. “Even though it’s not snowing anymore, there are several neighborhoods that haven’t been cleared. Also, the freezing temperatures are causing black ice to form, which is definitely more dangerous than soft snow.”
With more snow to come on Jan. 17 and Jan. 20, students will continually be impacted.
“Although the board made a mistake, they have time to fix it,” Al-Saloum said.
