Here's how South Shore schools decide when to call a snow day

When a storm is on its way or already here, Denise Crouse is on the roads.

The transportation coordinator for the South Shore Regional Centre for Education (SSRCE) starts her day before 4 a.m. so she can assess whether roads are safe enough for schools to open.

"There are some trying mornings for sure, but I could not imagine gathering information without physically being out on the roads to be able to see for myself what the conditions are," Crouse told CBC Radio's Information Morning Nova Scotia.

She tests out driving conditions on main roads and back roads, follows the weather forecast and talks with public works staff and police.

"So there's a lot pushed into a couple of hours in the morning and we try our best to have every decision made prior to six in the morning so that our parents can be prepared," Crouse said.

Frustration from parents

Nancy Pynch-Worthylake, the regional executive director for the SSRCE, knows the decision to close schools doesn't always sit well with some parents.

"We get calls from families and we have complete understanding of their frustration and also their fear for safety if the storm changes and they feel like we've made a mistake," she said.

There are times when a storm just misses the area, but schools have already closed and kids are home for the rest of the day. Other times, a storm will unexpectedly hit the area when students are already on their way to class.

"I mean hindsight is 2020, so we often say in the morning by 8:30 or 9 or 10 o'clock, it's very easy to look back and see what we should have done," Pynch-Worthylake said. "But at 5:30, we're making the decision on the very best information that we have."

2 storm systems on their way

As we near the end of the week, Nova Scotia is bracing for more snow and cold weather. The first system begins on Thursday and could bring snowfall totals of five to 10 centimetres or more for the Tri-County and South Shore regions.

The second system that begins on Thursday evening and into Friday could bring even more snow, according to CBC meteorologist Ryan Snoddon, with five to 15 centimetres predicted to fall across central and western areas of Nova Scotia.

Crouse said when she's out on the roads, she's mostly monitoring whether buses can make it to and from school safely. If the buses can't operate, the schools close.

"Our buses can drive through snow..., but on the slippery days, that's really hard for our buses to be able to control on icy conditions," she said.

Deciding when schools close due to weather is a difficult task that Pynch-Worthylake said isn't taken lightly, especially during the pandemic when so many kids have spent time out of the classroom.

"Educators have done their very best to maintain instruction through challenging situations. But our hope and our wish every day is that the roads are safe so that all of our students can be in school," she said.

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