Region 9 School Superintendent Delivers Tuneful Snow Day Tribute

EASTON, CT — Justin Timberlake's got nothing on Region 9 School Superintendent Rydell Harrison.

In a slickly produced music video posted to YouTube early Monday morning, the new schools czar announced the district's first snow day of the school year. More memorably, he crafted a tuneful paean to a simpler time for students, when snow meant a day off, and not a choice between remote and hybrid, Zoom and asynchronous.

For Harrison, the choice was forts or angels.

Harrison's version of Justin Timberlake's "Can't Stop the Feeling" follows him as he zips around Redding and Easton, sledding down hills, and chilling in front of a fireplace with hot cocoa.

"Close up that computer 'cause it's a snow, snow, snow day," Harrison sings, with a genuine enthusiasm that makes it tough not to run outside and start work on that perfect snowman.

Harrison may be new to the area, having just started as superintendent in August, but he's no stranger to the mic, or YouTube. His version of Journey's "Don't Stop Believing," produced to announce the first snow day at his previous gig in Watertown in 2019, has over 29,500 views.