Nearly a week of snow days after Winter Break culminated in a two-hour delay marked by snow and ice. Schools opened despite complaints from students, and the first school week of 2025 started (and ended) on a Friday amidst harsh weather conditions.
On Jan. 10, schools opened two hours late as a result of the weather; school walkways and buildings were cleared of snow and treated to prevent refreezing, and high-traffic areas were supervised. Still, faced with cold temperatures and ice covering some roads, many students and staff struggled to get to school.
“The roads were so icy, I couldn’t go over ten miles per hour,” senior Ankur Madan said. “I didn’t feel safe or comfortable.”
VDOT prioritizes primary roads with high traffic when clearing snow and ice, so while more popular areas such as Stringfellow Rd. were cleared, neighborhood roads still had residual ice and snow. Even after arriving at his parking spot on campus, Madan’s journey to school was far from over.
“My entire parking spot was filled with ice and snow and I could feel my car wasn’t level,” Madan said. “I was really worried, getting out there, walking from the parking lot to school, because of how terrible the conditions were.”
At least one teacher arrived that morning to a completely snowed-in parking space and could not park in their reserved spot, having to use the school’s visitor parking. Drivers were not the only ones at risk of injury; ice formed on several popular routes for walking to school and made them slippery. This includes a pathway near Shenandoah Crossing Apartments, just outside CHS’ campus, which many students use each day. Right beside the path is a patch of jagged rocks.
“Even non-walkers [who are driven to the pathway] come through that pathway near the fence,” junior Abhi Gaddam said. “There’s a downhill slope that causes tens of slides and tumbles per day.”
Since Jan. 10, some places on and near school grounds have built up even more ice. Freshman Kevin Wang, whose local sidewalks are “completely covered with snow and ice,” slipped and hit his head while walking home on that day. He was not seriously injured.
“It took me a good 30 minutes to [drive] one block because of how terrible the roads were,” Madan said. “It blows my mind that school was even open.”
