February may be the shortest month, but Mother Nature managed to pack it full of snow, ice, sleet, and single-digit temperatures that reeked havoc with school districts unaccustomed to dealing with such issues.

In early January,  two days of single-digit temperatures canceled the first two days of the second semester.  The main concerns, according to school officials,  centered around buses, which sat idle for two weeks during the semester break and might not start in single-digit temperatures, and the safety of students,  especially the younger ones, who would have to wait in the bitter cold for their buses.

Fast forward three weeks.  The first of two major snow storms just two weeks apart forced Fayette County students to miss three more days of school, Jan. 29-31.  With local meteorologists predicting a “significant weather event” with several inches of snow and sleet for most of metro Atlanta later in the day on Tuesday, Jan. 28,  Superintendent of Schools Dr. Joseph C. Barrow met with school and county officials that morning at 9. They decided to dismiss students 30 minutes early at 3:15 p.m.

However, the snow began falling around noon and quickly accumulated on the roads, creating hazardous driving conditions. This forced Barrow to change his earlier plan and release students at 2:45.  As the snow continued to fall and dipping temperatures caused some of the snowy mixture to turn to ice, school officials then decided to release student drivers at 1:30 p.m. while all other students had to wait for the buses or for their parents to pick them up.

Once those first flakes fell in the storm that became known as Snowmageddon, students crowded around windows, quickly forgetting the day’s lessons in countless classrooms on campus.  Some were eager to catch their first glimpses of snow.

Many parents were angry about the county’s late decision to release students because the storm had been widely predicted by meteorologists. Some took to the Internet to voice their complaints by writing on the Fayette County Board of Education’s Facebook page..

Similarly, schools across metro Atlanta started to shut down later that afternoon. Colder temperatures during the night, combined with sleet, caused the roads to turn into slick sheets of ice. Gov. Nathan Deal consequently declared a state of emergency for most of the state forcing schools in Fayette and surrounding counties to close for the rest of the week.  Teachers in Fayette County reported to work from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 31, as conditions permitted.

For many students, this was a rare encounter with snow,  so some went outside to enjoy the winter storm’s 2- to 4-inch bounty while others stayed indoors and surveyed the scenery.

The second storm occurred two weeks later as ice began to fall, this time around midnight on Tuesday, Feb. 11. The next day, a layer of icy mix covered the roads and buildings. Barrow, however,  had already decided to cancel school that day and because of predictions of more ice and below-freezing temperatures, he canceled the remaining days that week  leading up to winter break,  Feb. 14-18.

This storm was not as dangerous as the previous crisis because the front, known as the Polar Vortex, moved into the area when no one was away from home. The first storm occurred midday when parents were at work and students and teachers were at school.

By the end of February, students had missed seven school days.  Members of the Fayette County School Board decided at its Feb. 24 meeting that these days would not have to be made up. Since Deal declared a state of emergency for most of those missed days, schools don’t have to make them up, according to a law passed by the state legislature last month that says schools are not required to make up missed days when a state of emergency is in effect.

School officials across metro Atlanta grappled with what to do about the missed instructional time. Some school districts, like Rockdale County, already made up some of their days by canceling its winter break. Gwinnett schools added 30-minutes to the school day.  DeKalb County decided to add three instructional days to the end of its school calendar.  Students will report on May 21-23.  Barrow said he did not want to cancel spring break plans of students and their families or push back the graduation date for the county’s high school seniors because so many plans had already been made.