In early December, out of the blue, I received a lovely email from Mitch McGuigan — former CA Upper School Principal and Head of School.
After a few niceties regarding his travels (boat docked in Savannah through December), Mitch got to the point: As winter begins, don’t mess with the snow and ice! He writes: “Given that you are from the north and therefore not to be trusted regarding what are safe conditions, I pass on some advice.”
Mitch’s note was filled with practical guidance and tips, and I took it home to post on my refrigerator. With temps still hitting the 60s, I thought little about it again — until this past week.
Below is what I wrote to our Upper School students on January 6th, a few hours after the public schools delayed their start by two hours on January 7th, when morning temps were expected to hit single digits.
After the email, I’ll walk you through the decision making process — just in case you come away with the impression that us folks from the north don’t get it.
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5:30 PM
January 6, 2014
Hello CA Upper School students,
Growing up in Minnesota, I can still recall with vivid detail those winter nights when we were expecting a big storm. Phones would ring off the hook the night before (yes, there was a time before Twitter):
- “Do you think school will be canceled?”
- “I’m sure they have to cancel school, it’s dangerous and they don’t want us to get hurt.”
- “Last year when this type of storm came, they canceled school for two days!”
We’d all go to bed giddy with the excitement over a possible snow day, and the next morning we’d jump out of bed and head to the radio to listen to what we were sure would be a long list of closings.
And we’d listen.
Once the list when through the first time and we didn’t hear our school, we’d assume that something was wrong. We must of have just missed it.
We’d listen again as they went through the list a second time.
Really? Look at all that snow. How can they not cancel school!?! THIS JUST ISN’T FAIR. (Since we didn’t have the internet back when I was a kid, we actually had to yell in all caps. Kind of like walking up hill to school both ways.)
Having experienced it first hand, I can tell that nothing, I mean nothing, is worse than the disappointment of an expected snow day that doesn’t materialize.
Because I care and I want to spare you the same agony that I experienced in my youth, I’m writing you on Monday night to tell you that I expect that we WILL have a full day of school tomorrow.
Yes, I know that Wake County has delayed school two hours.
Yes, I know it will be cold.
While all those winters in the frozen tundra has made me too cold hearted to delay school tomorrow, thankfully you do have folks who care for your well-being. Ms. Gooding, always looking out for your emotional health, wrote me this afternoon and asked if we could arrange for a hot treat to warm our spirits in the morning. I spoke with Chef Sam, and he will have hot chocolate available in the Dining Hall before school. Please enjoy — if you can brave the cold from the Upper School building to the Dining Hall and back (a up hill both ways, I’m sure).
Dr. Ehrhardt
PS: Of course, if for some reason the weather changes and gets much colder than we expect or we get some black ice, school could still be delayed. Keep a look out – but do your homework.
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Here is what happened leading up to the email …
After the news broke about the public schools around the noon hour, I consulted internally with our leadership team — in particular, Jess Garcia our director of facilities. His team had already begun winterizing some elements of the campus (outside drinking fountains, for example). His plan was to leave the heat on overnight in the buildings to prevent any problems and make things comfortable in the morning. There was nothing from a facilities perspective, he said, that would be gained by a late start.
The public schools had chosen their delay for a few specific reasons: they were worried about getting their buses started, they were worried about students waiting outside at bus stops in the dark, and they were not sure how some of the aging buildings would hold up overnight. Those concerns were outside the realm of ice, snow, and driving safety that would have been most relevant for Cary Academy.
I then consulted with the other heads of area private schools, including The Raleigh School, St. Timothy’s School, Durham Academy, and Ravenscroft. For the same reasons as Cary Academy, none of these schools were planning a late start due to the cold.
The final step, then, was to decide on a communication plan. Remaining silent on the issue was one alternative. However, since the news broke about the public schools midday, speculation was rampant around the campus. Keeping quiet, especially if it looked like we were going to have school, didn’t seem like the right choice. After informing the Leadership Team and our employees, I decided to drop a note to the Upper School students. I hoped that maybe it would be best to break the bad news in a nice way … hence the email above.
I hope this little glimpse into the decision making process is informative. In particular, I hope that everybody understands that while the message to the students was intended to be humorous, I don’t take bad weather as a laughing matter. Rest assured that I feel no need showcase any northern stoicism regarding winter. When the time comes, I’ll be delighted to call for the first snow day of the year. I’ll be even more delighted when spring arrives!
As we enter a new calendar year, let me take a moment to continue a tradition at the school to share some highlights of the past year and look a bit towards the future.