As winter intensifies, attention in West Michigan turns towards school snow days, a staple part of the regional experience. The state is no stranger to heavy snowfall, with several districts having a reputation for calling off school frequently due to inclement weather.
Among those school districts, Grand Rapids Public Schools (GRPS) sits at the top. With a total of 18 days of school cancelled due to snowfall in the 2021-22 school year until now, according to reports, they are leading the pack. Another district, Forest Hills, comes in a close second with 17 snow days so far. Jenison Public Schools stands third with 14, while Rockford records 12 snow days, making it the fourth most impacted school district due to snow days.
Despite the challenges that these repeated closures present, many parents and students seem to view them with an element of nostalgia. They are considered a rite of passage — a symbol of Michigan’s famously brutal winters. The impact on schools, however, is felt in an educational context, where such days are usually subtracted from scheduled instructional days, sometimes causing ripple effects on the curriculum.
They also raise questions about the availability of resources to tackle weather-related school disruptions. As much as they are a local tradition, snow days present challenges — logistical, economic, and educational. The approach to handling them varies from district to district.
For these West Michigan schools, the frequency of snow days immediately opens a dialogue on how districts manage these weather-related interferences and their wider impact on education. This rewind of the snowy school days gives the community a sense of scale and proportion about their snow day infrastructures at hand.
Last modified: January 23, 2025
