They played Xbox and napped under office desks. They watched cartoons and read books and ate leisurely French toast breakfasts prepared by parents forced -- or at least handed an excuse -- to stay home from work.
A few students even played in the snow Monday, as the Anchorage School District wielded one of its most momentous powers: declaring a snow day.
District officials canceled classes for their roughly 49,000 students, citing deteriorating road conditions, power outages and dangerous sidewalks. Monday marked the first such closure of the school year, with news of the snow day arriving later in the morning than parents have come to expect.
"It is absolutely, bar none, the hardest decision I have to make," said Superintendent Carol Comeau, who made the call shortly after 6 a.m. Comeau said she would normally prefer to decide whether school will be canceled by 4:30 a.m. in order to notify parents well before they begin their day.
The stakes are high for district officials because weather cancellations create a wave of complications for parents and employers across the city, with some workers staying home to watch kids or bringing children to the office. Preschools often take their closure cues from the district, while school officials report weather cancellations to both the court system and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.
Kaile Meyers brought her 5-year-old son Wyatt to the office with her. The business is family run, she said, armed with Legos and Play-Doh just for such occasions.
"He was initially concerned about missing school and not having recess with his friends, but when I explained that we were going to see Papa at work and he could play out in our yard later, I saw a devilish little grin come over his face from the back seat and he was excited," Meyers said. "Reminded me of myself when I was a kid."
Gina Struble took the day off work from the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium to watch her 7-year-old daughter, Maia. The plan: finish Christmas cards, bake and play in the snow.
"We're also doing laundry, watching cartoons and plan to do a little shopping -- we'll get Dad's Christmas gift today," Struble said.
The district builds two snow days into the school calendar each year and encourages parents to create plans for emergency child care. School was canceled for two days during a wet winter storm in late November 2010, and for three days in January 2009 due to icy roads and hazardous winds, according to the district.
Alaska forecasters on Sunday night warned of high winds and blizzard conditions across the city. Thousands of people lost power and cars skittered off the New Seward Highway south of Anchorage.
As the weather worsened, students and others descended on the district's Facebook page, which transforms into virtual debate hall when talk of a closure surfaces. Students and some parents demand closures. Others argue classes ought to proceed as planned.
"Keep in mind, this is Alaska and school doesn't close every time it snows," a spokeswoman wrote on the district Facebook page Sunday. "We will watch the roads, as we always do, and make a decision based on morning conditions. Mass posting to this page will not influence the district's decision on whether to close schools."
On Monday morning, Comeau looked out her window to see snow piled high outside her South Anchorage home. The power was out along Abbott Road as she drove to work, she said.
Comeau considered delaying the school day rather than canceling it but said that likely would have caused even more confusion for parents -- particularly those with kids in elementary school.
School cancellations amount to a city emergency but the district must err on the side of student and staff safety, she said. Last year, Comeau opted to keep schools open one Monday morning in November, only to regret the decision later, she said in a prepared statement: "Families were already headed to school when we realized how bad the situation had gotten. In hindsight, I should have reversed my decision, even though it was after the designated notification time."
Jennifer Christensen-Bowers, an ad agency owner, worked from home Monday in order to watch her son and two daughters, ages 12 to 14, she said. The kids had been gorging on video games and an iPad lately, she said, so they were operating on a "no computer" policy despite the extra hours at home.
Christensen-Bowers, who grew up in Anchorage and can't remember ever missing more than one school day on account of snow, allowed a viewing of "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief." Otherwise, "they've made some really cool snowmen," she said.
In South Anchorage, Analetta Welch expected a crazy day at her job at Bouncing Bears, an indoor amusement center with inflatable slides and play equipment. But business was no busier than usual, said Welch, who brought her 10-year-old daughter to work.
"(Families) are keeping it safe and staying home," she said.
School was expected to resume today.
Twitter updates: twitter.com/adn_kylehopkins. Call Kyle Hopkins at 257-4334 or email him at khopkins@adn.com.
By KYLE HOPKINS
Anchorage Daily News