From the Desk of Mr. Jeff Kuhns

Last year as the building principals were introducing me to the students, one common question the principals would ask was, ‘What do you think the superintendent does?’ The most popular answer among elementary students was some version of, ‘He owns the school!’ (I don’t) but another very popular refrain was, ‘He calls snow days!’ (I do).

If you talk to any superintendent, they will tell you that it is their least favorite part of their job. I am lucky to have a great team here at West Perry that helps me make those calls. I also have a pretty extensive network of superintendents that I converse with prior to making those calls. You probably have noticed that it’s very rare for one school to make a call alone. I know some people say that we are getting soft and we used to go to school in worse weather back in the day. I ask that people keep in mind that safety is a high priority and not everyone lives on main roads. I will strive to have us in school as much as possible.

One thing that we don’t do here at West Perry are virtual days or flexible instruction days. Other districts think that it’s crazy, but I don’t necessarily agree. Throw it back to when I was in school in the 70s and 80s and we all looked forward to a snow day. For one, you had the day to play in the snow; make snowmen, go sledding, have a snowball fight, etc. It also gave you a break during the somewhat long winter months when you barely saw the sunshine outside of school hours. Yes, it means that we have to make these days up but it also means that we got a surprise break.

When we have a snow day, I hope that you and your children enjoy the break. There are way more stressful things in students' lives than there were when I was a kid. Take the time to play if you can and enjoy listening to your children laugh. Make them hot chocolate or snow ice cream (is that still a thing?) or teach them to make their own. Show them how to enjoy nature in a different season. I love winter hiking if there is a place that you can travel to safely and I recently got a pair of snowshoes that I can’t wait to try out.

So, yes, I’m the snow day guy! I hope you have enjoyed your snow days!