As the snow piled on endlessly in the streets of Fairfax County Public Schools, so too did the dozens of tweets on Twitter, all with one hashtag in common: #closeFCPS. After a painstaking wait for students wondering the status of school today, many were disappointed to find that they would have to rough it out in the snow.
“I can speak for myself and others; the decision not to #closeFCPS was a bad decision. No one should ever have to be put in a position where they will be injured,” said senior Erin Dix.
The hashtag #closeFCPS has caught attention globally, with students from different states and countries advocating for the cause. Buzzfeed even went on to detail the determination of FCPS students in seeking revenge against the school board for “failing to cancel school.”
Fuffi Naji, senior class president, weighs in. “While it was extremely dangerous getting to school today, at least from now on, the school board will be much more cautious when making decisions over school cancellations,” he said.
Indeed, they will. Mr. Ryan McElveen, At-large FCPS School Board Member famous for his informative tweets regarding school delays and cancellations, explains the situation in depth.
“Today’s failure to close was a big mistake, but we must always learn from our mistakes. We will continue reviewing our processes and timeline for making these decisions. It’s incredible that #closeFCPS trended globally, but I’m not particularly surprised, since FCPS students are always so creative and passionate about what they believe in. I hope this translates into our students becoming strong advocates for important issues when they enter the real world.”
Furthermore, McElveen says that the county provided teachers and students with excused absences today.
“It’s really easy as a student to automatically think keeping school open is a bad decision, but having an outside perspective, I usually think FCPS makes the right call,” said Riley Cosgrove, former Langley student and sophomore at the College of William & Mary.
After a woeful day in school yet an entertaining one on Twitter, Fairfax County Public Schools has decided to issue a two-hour delay tomorrow, January 7.