(Continued from page 19)

free time to dance and play video games now will cost them part of spring break, plus a holiday or two.
• Some older high school students worry snow days could delay graduation, while others lament being cooped up by temperatures so low they rule out even sledding and snowmen.
• "I'd rather be having summer time than have snow days," said 11-year-old Emma Fishbein of suburban Philadelphia. She said an ice storm that knocked out power last week made her extra time off even less enjoyable.
• "We don't want to go outside because when we get back in, we don't have any power to warm ourselves up," she said.
• Her mother, Rachel Ezekiel Fishbein, said the possibility of an extended school year also is making it tricky to register the sixth-grader for a camp that starts in June -- even if she has enjoyed the extra time at home with her teenage son, who heads to college in the fall.
• In Ohio, so many schools have exceeded their five allowable calamity days that state lawmakers are considering a measure backed by the governor to add more just for this year because of the unusually severe winter weather. Meanwhile, some schools are using "blizzard bag" take-home or online assignments to make up missed classes.
• For school administrators, it's a question of balancing students' well-being with educational requirements often tied to funding.
• "The safety issue would trump anything else," said Rita Wolff, spokeswoman for Williamsville Central School District in suburban Buffalo, N.Y., which hasn't used all seven snow days built into its calendar.
• In Indiana and Ohio, cancellations and delays have raised concerns about whether teachers have enough time to prepare students for statewide assessments this spring, which factor into school rankings and other performance measures. Ohio education officials have discussed the possibility of expanding the testing window to give schools a few extra preparation days, state Department of Education spokesman John Charlton said.
• The Providence, R.I., district absorbed two of its three snow days by canceling planned teacher development days and will add a makeup day at year's end. In southeast Virginia, Suffolk will have classes on Presidents Day and Memorial Day, drawing some complaints from parents.
• "Some people say these holidays shouldn't be messed with, some say don't take any of my spring break," Suffolk schools spokeswoman Bethanne Bradshaw said, noting that it's impossible to please everyone.
• Darcie Fisher, a mother of two girls from West Bridgewater, Mass., said schools

(Continued on page 21)