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       Some kids in the Washington region can plan to leave the laptops and grab the sleds this winter, with a snowy forecast and more traditional snow days built into school calendars.

       Fairfax County Public Schools announced this week that it will revert to its traditional snow day policy this winter with 11 snow days built into the calendar. The decision reverses a policy put into place last year that allowed for five snow days before transitioning to virtual learning for future closures.

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       “With 11 snow days built into our existing calendar, eliminating virtual learning days will enable us to maximize our in-person learning and provide for equitable access to instruction and student services for each and every one of our students,” Fairfax Superintendent Michelle Reid said in a message to families this week.

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       Fairfax didn’t have to roll out its inclement weather policy last year. Most school districts in the region didn’t, as last winter was the second-warmest on record, with just 0.4 inches of snow recorded at Reagan National Airport, the third-least on record. But the Capital Weather Gang predicts a harsher winter this year, with forecasts of above-normal snowfall for the first time in five years. School districts around the region are getting their plans in place.

       The future of snow days has been in question since the coronavirus pandemic introduced the world to possibilities of widespread virtual school and work. Were snow days — beloved by students and divisive for parents — a thing of the past? Could schools protect a day of instruction by forcing students confined to the house into a virtual classroom? In January 2022, a major storm showed that snow days were likely to stay, as most school districts in region canceled classes.

       But as schools attempt to recover the learning loss fueled by time away from the classroom during the pandemic, school districts in the region have all taken slightly different approaches to their snow day policies in recent years. The calculus of when and how to cancel school (or offer virtual learning) depends on a number of factors that school leaders weigh in real time for each discrete weather event.

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       D.C. Public Schools has just two traditional snow days built into its calendar this year. Additional cancellations will be made up at the end of the year. The District will not turn to virtual learning.

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       In Arlington County, the school district announced that it has 13 traditional snow days built into its calendar. If the district goes above the allotted days, it will turn to distance learning to avoid adding makeup days.

       Loudoun County Public Schools has never required virtual learning on inclement weather days — and plans to stick with that approach this year, district spokeswoman Natalie Allen said. Loudoun is farther northwest and often receives more snow than some of its other Northern Virginia counterparts; it builds 15 snow days into its calendar.

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       “Though LCPS offered online learning last year, asking the whole division to move to online learning for a snow day has many challenges,” the Loudoun website reads. “In bad weather, power outages may impact access to the internet, which in some parts of the county is already spotty. In addition, some teachers would need to travel to their school buildings to get connected — which would not be possible in snow.”

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       Alexandria City Public Schools will make calls based on each weather situation. In a communication to families, the district said if there are enough calendar days, it will consider designating the day as “an actual snow day,” but “families should also be prepared for the possibility that the first day of school closure due to winter weather could be virtual asynchronous learning, which allows students to learn the same material, but at different times and locations without live instruction.”

       Maryland’s Montgomery County plans to take a similar approach this winter. The district will consider transitioning to virtual learning during inclement weather when an event is predictable, part of a multiday scenario like a blizzard, or the district has already communicated with families about the transition. Spokesman Christopher Cram said the guidance is expected to remain the same for the 2023-2024 school year.

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       And according to its 2023-2024 virtual instruction plan, Prince George’s County Public Schools plans to offer synchronous virtual learning on inclement weather days.

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       Even though Fairfax does not plan to offer virtual school on snow days this year, Reid said in her note that students don’t need to stop learning. They’ll have access to online tutoring services and can complete any supplemental work.

       “There are so many opportunities to learn even when we are not in our classrooms,” Reid said in the message. “And though this year’s snow days won’t feature virtual instruction, I trust our students will still have plenty of learning opportunities, whether it’s the physics of sledding down a hill or experimenting with ratios to make the perfect mug of hot chocolate with whipped cream!”

       Lauren Lumpkin and Nicole Asbury contributed to this report.

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