On January 21, the community of Houston was hit by a historical snow storm “Enzo.” This storm brought approximately four inches of snow, an amount that has not been seen since 2021, causing a mess in Houston. Icy highways, a few power lines destroyed, and a few water problems were some of the effects of this storm.
The Houston Independent School District had to close a few days before the storm arrived in Houston. Many people were satisfied with the break this storm caused although it may have caused hazardous travels and schedule changes for everyone in the city.
CVHS was one of the schools directly impacted by the inclement weather. As a result, HISD cancelled school for every school on January 21 and 22, the students’ academic calendar was delayed by the storm and all extracurricular activities. All this had happened even before the snowstorm had arrived in Houston.
CVHS assistant principal Melissa Matsu, talked about the effects of this snowstorm on CVHS.
“It definitely impacted CVHS because we were supposed to have interim STAAR testing during the snowstorm, which then got moved to Thursday, which then we were told, got moved again to Tuesday,” Matsu stated.
Matsu was also personally affected by this snowstorm.
“I was not in town, I was concerned about getting back into town, and I arrived on Monday, because it was a long weekend. I went out to town for the weekend, and I was concerned about getting back, but when I heard about the impending snowstorm, I wondered how far in advance HISD would cancel school,” Matsu said.
Matsu was worried about how the snowstorm would affect the academic schedule and how it also affected her personally.
Road travel became a challenge as icy conditions contributed to a number of accidents. The Mayor Council encouraged civilians to stay off of the roadways for their safety.
The snow is abnormal for Houston as HISD cancelled school in advance due to the risk of pipes freezing for students and staff at home and dangerous icy roads.
CenterPoint Energy had positioned an army of some 3,000 workers ready to respond to disruptions in service. Fortunately, the electrical grid did not suffer as badly as it did during the 2021 freeze, when 2 million households lost power, CVHS did not experience any power loss, allowing students to return on Thursday, January 23 as scheduled.
Despite the challenges, the snowstorm presented a special experience for the CVHS community. Students and staff, not used to such weather, made time for activities related to snow, a once-in-a-lifetime experience. However, the missed instructional time required adjustments to ensure that curriculum requirements were met such as STAAR testing. Many people had a great time and possibly got a new experience out of this snow storm.
As Houston remains in a state of delight from winter storm Enzo, CVHS is committed to providing continuity in education with safety for all students and staff. Many people would say we had a positive affect out of this storm.
