When Tosa West Senior Jadin Whitehead wakes up and finds out it’s a snow day, his first reaction is to stay in bed. 

“The first thing I do after I find out it is a snow day is go right back to sleep” said Whitehead.

According to a text and email message sent out  to all district families all district schools and offices will be closed on Thursday, December 22nd. “Due to upgraded Winter Weather Warning & timing of weather related to dismissal, WSD buildings will be closed on Thursday, December 22, 2022”

So, who decides when and why students get to enjoy this extra day of sleep and relaxation?

According to the Wauwatosa School District Communications website, “In general, Wauwatosa Public Schools will not be closed due to weather unless there is a Winter Weather Warning – including a Wind Chill Warning, Blizzard Warning, Winter Storm Warning, etc.”

A Winter Weather Warning is when wintry weather is expected. This could include snow, sleet, ice and low temperatures. A Winter Weather Watch, which the district does not close for, would mean that it is possible that these conditions would occur. 

School can be canceled for a large amount of snow, high winds, extremely cold temperatures or a combination of these events. In February 2014, the school district was closed for three days due to extremely cold weather. 

When deciding to close, the Wauwatosa School District also considers the decision of Milwaukee Public Schools. Like Wauwatosa School District, the Milwaukee School District decision is also made by their superintendent, their protocols and understanding of the impending weather. .  

The Milwaukee Public School district policy considers “A number of factors will be considered regarding the closure of schools due to inclement weather, including extreme temperature (20 degrees below zero wind chill in the winter and when heat index values are expected to be 95 degrees or higher during the daytime hours) rain, ice, and snow.” 

A Winter Storm Watch has been issued for Milwaukee county from December 22-24. However, a Winter Weather Advisory has only been issued for December 22. It is also projected that Wauwatosa will receive 4-12 inches of snow Thursday morning.  According to www.weather.gov, temperatures will be below zero, wind will be high and possibly snowing.

“Honestly, I enjoy a snow day,” said Whitehead, “but it’s going to come back at the end because we’re going to have to make it up eventually.”

The Wauwatosa School District has Friday, May 26th built into the schedule in anticipation of a possible snow day.  If a snow day is used, school will be in session on Friday, May 26th.

Over the past few days, local news media has been anticipating blizzard like conditions in Wisconsin and the Milwaukee area. This has caused many students and teachers to discuss the possibility of a snow day on Thursday, December 22nd. 

“I think that snow days are fun and help with getting the snow cleaned up, but it’s sad that we don’t have them as much anymore because we can have school online,” said Senior Camille Socol.

Teachers and students have become accustomed to virtual learning since it was implemented during the shutdowns in 2020.

“I don’t think we will have a virtual day tomorrow, but it would be very nice to be able to teach from home,” said Social Studies teacher Padi Kong.

Another way to guess if school will be canceled is to look at the web site www.snowdaycalculator.com which tries to figure out if a snow day will happen. 

Social Studies teacher Michael Howard has a unique outlook on tomorrow’s weather.

“I hope that we have a full day of school tomorrow and I am looking forward to one day with my students before break,” said Howard.