It’s disappointing that the Portland Press Herald, in its nostalgic editorializing in favor of snow days (Our View, Dec. 18), seems so out of touch with what is currently happening in Portland’s public schools.

Whatever one’s position on 10th- to 12th-graders having been inequitably singled out for all-remote learning, the fact is that Portland’s public high school students’ schedule this year (and the year started late) consists of only 12 hours of class time per week. That’s three hours per day (9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.) and no instruction time on Wednesdays – about half the normal amount of learning time.

No wonder “course failure rates are elevated at all grades” (per the superintendent). No wonder teachers are unable to cover the expected material for their classes. Our students are falling behind their peers in better-managed schools and districts, and are not receiving an adequate, appropriate education.

In the midst of this reality, it seemed surreal that Portland’s superintendent canceled school entirely for not one, but two, snow days last week, shortly before the holiday break. Our high school students already have time to get outdoors every afternoon and on Wednesdays. I hear that middle and elementary school students also have plenty of free time on their remote days. We need to be making up lost learning time, not taking more breaks from it.

It has been a challenging year for everyone, but students in Portland Public Schools are being shortchanged and district leadership seems focused on just about everything except what should be their primary mission: education.

Joe Conroy
Portland