Thousands of schools along the Eastern Seaboard are closed Tuesday as Superstorm Sandy recedes, marking the second day that millions of students are without classes.
The closures are affecting some of the country's most populous school districts. New York City Schools -- the nation's largest system -- has canceled classes Tuesday as schools are repurposed as relief shelters, opening their doors to those in need. All of the city's charter schools are also closed. City Mayor Michael Bloomberg already announced Tuesday morning that city schools will also close Wednesday, leaving 1.1 million students at home again.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie announced Monday that the state's 590 school districts are closed Tuesday. Washington, D.C. and area schools are also closed for the day, as are schools in Baltimore, Boston and Cleveland, among others.
A number of districts in Connecticut -- including Norwalk, Trumbull and Stratford, have already announced school closures for Wednesday.
While sparse weather-related school closings have a substantially smaller impact on student learning than learning loss generally experienced during summer breaks, students will still have to make up for lost time, cutting into scheduled vacations.
Missing just a few days from the regular school year means falling behind on preparations for state standardized exams -- tests that often factor into a student's eligibility to be promoted, a teacher's evaluation, a school's overall score and funding it can receive from the state.
Just a series of delayed openings and early dismissals from a snow storm last January led to midterm exam cancellations in Monroe, Conn. The tests became optional for those who wanted the scores to be factored into their final grades.
Weather make-up days or modifying school days to account for lost hours also tend to affect family schedules and arrangements as well as school sports and after-school activities.
For more information on school closings in major cities, visit the district websites below.
