Omicron, winter storms hit US, school districts closed or delayed across many states

School closures and delays are increasing as administrators deal with rising coronavirus, frustrated union workers, and a northeastern winter storm.

Schools in and around major cities – Detroit, Dallas and Washington, D.C., – have reportedly closed due to the virus, which has disrupted school reopenings for more than a year after the pandemic started. According to local media, remote learning will be available in Philadelphia at least 92 times between Friday and Friday.

Burbio’s school tracking data indicates that schools in the USA have experienced a dramatic increase in school disruptions due to the pandemic. A large percentage of those are the 653 Chicago schools that were affected by organized labor. 

Fox News has previously reported that many districts have received union requests for remote work because of the rise in coronavirus cases. Disruptions were also caused by staff shortages such as those in Pittsburgh. Action News 4 reports that at least 13 schools in Pittsburgh have been closed due to staff shortages related COVID-19 or other absences.

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Although New York City has faced pressure from organized labor, Mayor Eric Adams has insisted on keeping schools open amid the pandemic – a major pledge in the speech he gave after being sworn into office.  Due to the icy weather, a number of New York and New Jersey schools were closed or delayed Wednesday. Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia will also be closed on Friday.

There are many methods to combat COVID-19. D.C. is one example of a country that has taken a more aggressive approach to combating COVID-19. It requires both students as well as staff to submit negative test results. The Washington Post reported Wednesday night that around 38,300 students in the school district had received their results.

California’s San Francisco East Bay Area schools have announced that they will close for two days Friday and Monday due to the “strain of omicron”. After Gov. Gavin Newsom, the governor, promised at December’s end that schools would be open with additional testing procedures.

Burbio defines disruption as “a school moving away from regular in-person instruction” but doesn’t include closures due to weather. The site had recorded more than 3500 disruptions in January as of Wednesday evening. Many of these disruptions seemed to be concentrated in the Northeast, but Georgia’s DeKalb County claimed it would hold virtual instruction January 5-7. 

Many counties have decided to offer remote instruction, such as DeKalb. Detroit Public Schools, for instance, recently informed parents that their students would receive remote instruction between January 6 and Jan 14.

However, winter weather caused a number of school closures and delays. Minneapolis Public Schools cancelled all after-school activities because of the expected sub-zero temperatures.

The National Weather Service issued Winter Storm Warnings, Winter Storm Watches, and Winter Weather Advisories throughout the Northeast and mid-Atlantic. Boston and Providence in Rhode Island are both under Winter Storm Warning. Winter Weather Advisories are in effect for New York City, Philadelphia and Baltimore, as well as Washington. On Thursday, snow is expected to rapidly spread eastward across Tennessee, Kentucky and the Ohio Valley.

Some schools are still offering remote learning, but others are closing. Fairfax County Public Schools, for example, announced Wednesday that they would be closing on January 6 without virtual learning. On Thursday, at most 10 schools or districts in Washington, D.C., were closed or delayed openings. Several schools in Connecticut and Massachusetts also saw closures this week.

Brian Donegan from FOX Weather contributed to this report.