Westwood Regional Institutes 'Virtual Snow Day': What It Means

WESTWOOD, NJ — It's not a full snow day, but it's not a full day of school either. In the Westwood Regional School District, Thursday will be a chance to experiment with a kind of snow day.

Billed as a "virtual snow day," students will spend the first half of their day in a virtual classroom, but will have the later part of the day to themselves. (Or their parents, who may just stick a shovel in their hand and tell them to hit the driveway.)

"Thursday will balance learning with a traditional snow day with a half day of virtual instruction in the morning followed by no classes or homework in the afternoon so our students/staff can take care of the snow removal and snowman building responsibilities as required at home," the district said.

The balancing act goes back to normal on Friday, as the district will shift to a fully remote schedule.

Shifting to virtual learning rather than using a full snow day was decided back in November, the district said.

"This school year, we will transition to full remote in the event of inclement weather whenever we have ample opportunity to notify staff and families the day prior so that they may prepare accordingly," the district said.

The decision comes as the region is staring down a nor'easter which could bring up to a foot of snow.

The National Weather Service labeled the "major" system a "nor'easter" since it's expected to produce strong, sustained damaging winds and precipitation over a 24-hour period on Wednesday.

READ MORE: How The Nor'easter Is Already Impacting Bergen County