Schools

Arlington Public Schools May Delay Tuesday School Decision Until Tuesday Morning

Decision will "depend on the weather and road conditions and we may not have a full picture until tomorrow morning."

Arlington students may not know if they are going to school or not Tuesday until Tuesday morning, according to a letter from Arlington Public Schools Superintendent Patrick Murphy sent to students' families Monday afternoon.

"...I am anxious to return to a regular schedule as soon as possible," he said in the letter. "However, that decision will depend on the weather and road conditions and we may not have a full picture until tomorrow morning."

By 5 p.m., Falls Church City Public Schools and Prince William County schools had already called off school for Tuesday.

The National Weather Service forecast for Arlington for Tuesday calls for wind chill temperatures near zero degrees, a low of 14 degrees and a high of 29 degrees.

Students at schools across the DC region were off Monday due to a snowstorm that hit the area.

Here's Murphy's full letter sent out Monday:

Dear APS Families:

As the snow is ending in our area, we are focusing on “digging out” at our 40 schools, program centers, and administrative offices throughout the county so that we can return to normal operations as soon as possible.

Our APS Operations team will be in close communications with the Arlington County crews that are working to clear the main arteries throughout the County and eventually the roads in our neighborhoods. All of the County and APS crews will be collaborating and making every effort to return the County and APS to normal operations as soon as possible. 

In the meantime, we hope that parents and community members will help clear sidewalks and bus stops in neighborhoods so that when we open schools, children have safe pathways to walk and clear areas to stand at bus stops.

While everyone is at home for the day, I also hope students will enjoy this time to curl up with a book or find some fun indoor learning activities at home with their families. Learning is a lifelong journey, and I encourage you to find new ways to learn and explore with your children, even when school is not in session.

Like all of you, I am anxious to return to a regular schedule as soon as possible. However, that decision will depend on the weather and road conditions and we may not have a full picture until tomorrow morning. We will update families as soon as possible through our regular channels of communication, including: • APS School Talk – via email and text messages
• The APS Web site at www.apsva.us 
• Our hotline, 703-228-4277, in English and Spanish
• Comcast Channel 70 and FiOS Channel 41
• Social Media including the APS Facebook Page and Twitter
• Notifications on the APS App
• Updates to local Radio and TV stations

Finally, many families have asked about makeup day plans. We are looking at that closely and hope to have an announcement in a day or two.

Like you, we look forward to returning to school as soon as possible and hope that spring is not far away. 

Sincerely,
Patrick K. Murphy, Ed.D.
Superintendent 


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