Schools Minnesota School Closings: St. Paul, Minneapolis, More Several major districts in Minnesota have decided to close schools this week due to the extreme cold. Reply MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis Public Schools will continue to be closed on Tuesday and Wednesday, Jan. 29-30. All district offices, including the Davis Education Center and the Student Placement Services Office, will remain closed. Minneapolis Kids sites will be closed and all Minneapolis Community Education evening classes are canceled as well. All athletic and school-sponsored activities are canceled. This decision was made because of the dangerously cold temperatures forecast with about 90 percent certainty by the National Weather Service, according to a news release. While the temperature at the start of school tomorrow does not fall within the standard guideline for closing of -35 degrees, it quickly drops and is well past that by the end of the school day. All day Wednesday is within guidelines. MPS is monitoring the forecast for Thursday and will notify families and staff of closures by late Wednesday afternoon. The primary criteria Minneapolis considers when making weather-related decisions include: The safety and well-being of students and staff Severity of the weather (extreme cold, flooding, etc.) The ability for buses and cars to travel safely Timing of weather Saint Paul Public Schools will be closed and most after-school activities and programs are canceled on Tuesday, Jan. 29 and Wednesday, Jan. 30 because of the cold weather. Discovery Club will remain open at limited sites Athletics cancellations are decided on a case-by-case basis Cancellations include:<doc-sep>The governor is deferring to school districts to make the decision about whether to stay open this week. ST PAUL, Minn. — Click here to see the latest closings and delays Several school districts, including Minneapolis, have pre-emptively canceled school through Wednesday due to the bitter cold forecast. Gov. Tim Walz announced Monday that he will not cancel schools statewide, but will defer to school districts to make decisions about closures. The governor has only canceled school statewide once in the last 20 years. “No matter how resilient the people of Minnesota may be, this weather should be taken seriously," Walz said in a statement on Monday. “Parents and students should pay close attention to the local news and messages from their local school district for information on school closures. All Minnesotans should make plans to stay safe.” Minneapolis Public Schools, Roseville Area Schools, Stillwater Area Schools and the North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale School District have already canceled classes for Tuesday and Wednesday due to the cold.<doc-sep>Public schools in Minneapolis and St. Paul will remain closed another day because of the dangerously cold temperatures. The two metro districts announced that classes are canceled Thursday for the fourth consecutive day. Several suburban districts soon followed suit. Minneapolis and St. Paul public schools closed Monday because of a snowstorm, then remained shut down Tuesday and Wednesday because of the extreme cold. Minneapolis Public Schools said in a statement that while the temperature at the end of school Thursday does not fall within the district’s guideline for closing of 35 degrees below zero, the day will start out well below that. Minneapolis public schools and district buildings will reopen Friday. In addition, the city of St. Paul announced that all library branches will close at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, and will resume normal hours on Thursday except for the West 7th library, which will be closed. All St. Paul Parks and Recreation centers will close at 8 p.m. Wednesday. Centers that normally open at 3 p.m. will open at 1 p.m. Thursday. A number of suburban east metro schools were also expecting to close on Thursday, including: Due to the dangerously cold temperatures predicted again for Thursday morning, South Washington County Schools will be closed on January 31. All daytime activities will be canceled. pic.twitter.com/By2S26XlwT — South Washington County Schools (@ISD833) January 30, 2019 With extremely cold temperatures anticipated again for tomorrow morning, school will be canceled for all students on Thursday, January 31. Adventure Club and daytime Community Education activities including Early Childhood and youth classes are canceled on Thursday… — Stillwater Schools (@Stillwater834) January 30, 2019 School will be canceled on Thursday, January 31 due to the dangerously cold temperatures that are forecast at the beginning of the school day. The cold weather also impacts our ability to have school buses safely prepared for students. More info: https://t.co/XHJ1b95lC3 pic.twitter.com/K7RnfgCLzP — School District #196 (@ISD196schools) January 30, 2019 Due to continuing extreme winter weather conditions, Anoka-Hennepin schools will be closed tomorrow, Thurs., Jan. 31, 2019. High school activities may continue after 2:30 p.m., await confirmation from an advisor or coach first, https://t.co/H1mUacfHmu, 763-506-1197 #AHSchools — Anoka-Hennepin (@AHSchools) January 30, 2019 Because of continued cold weather and concerns about transportation, there will be no school on Thursday, Jan. 31 for all students in Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District 191. Details: https://t.co/m4eWEeZcV3 — Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District 191 (@ISD191) January 30, 2019 District 622 will be closed on 1-31-19 due to the weather. There will be no Adventure Connection or Elementary Youth Enrichment. All high school sports and activities will continue as planned, but students should check with their coach or adviser. pic.twitter.com/N7jPgGPVPC — ISD 622 North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale (@isd622) January 30, 2019<doc-sep>MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – School administrators in Minnesota are moving to cancel classes for Thursday as another morning of extreme cold is in the forecast. Around noontime Wednesday, the Anoka-Hennepin School District, the state’s largest district, announced that its schools will be closed Thursday due to the frigid cold. However, as conditions are expected to improve Thursday afternoon, after-school and evening activities for high schoolers are still on schedule. Classes are expected to resume Friday. On Wednesday afternoon, Minneapolis Public Schools announced its schools will be closed on Thursday as well. All activities will be canceled, too. MPS says schools and buildings will reopen Friday. RELATED: School Closings St. Paul Public Schools followed suit, canceling classes Thursday and most after-school activities and programs. Roseville Public Schools will also be closed Thursday. Many students in Minnesota have been out of school for a three consecutive days. On Monday, classes were canceled in the Twin Cities due to an overnight snowstorm. After that, many schools closed Tuesday and Wednesday as a blast of arctic air descended on the state. At the Dwyer house, a trio of rambunctious boys ages ten and younger are battling it out in the living room in the form of knee hockey. The sound of slap shots and energized shouts fill the air. If you take those noises and put them on repeat, that might be the real storm some parents are weathering this week. Even these boys know mom needs a break. “I think she kind of likes [having us kids around], but kind of doesn’t like it,” said 10-year-old Luke Dwyer. “Sometimes we’re really chaotic and I don’t think she really likes that.” A visit from neighbors helps. Parents Timothy Knaak and his wife Dawn Lindblom stopped by the house with their two kids. “Lots of crafts, lots of coloring, lots of making things,” said Knaak of his past three days watching over his kids. With school cancelled, his job luckily lets him work from home — but that has its own challenges. ”Since I got a 3 year old and a 6 year old, I haven’t been able to properly work from home. So I will be probably taking a couple days of vacation to make up for helping out with [the kids],”Knaak said. Lindblom also just returned Wednesday from conference that was out of town. “I feel very fortunate that my husband did such a great job with these guys while I was gone,” she said. A third-grade teacher, Lindblom gets the day off as well. It’s a perk she doesn’t take for granted. “I was thinking a lot about my students and some of the families that just don’t have that luxury of taking time off,” she said. The beat goes on for these families Thursday. To fight the cabin fever, they’re heading out for a trip to the local YMCA. One by one, not necessarily in a coordinated fashion, the five kids get suited up in their boots and winter gear before the quick run out to the van. The cold hurts now, but warmth is just a few days away. Friday appears to be the only day of week when school won’t be cancelled, and temperatures are expected to soar above freezing Saturday. “This weekend it’s going to change. It’s not forever,” Knaak said. “I think knowing that is very helpful.” While the cold air is expected to move out of Minnesota on Thursday, the morning forecast still looks to be bitterly cold. In the Twin Cities, temperatures are expected to plunge to around 27 below zero, cold enough to shatter a daily low temperature record that’s stood for 130 years.<doc-sep>
Image 1 of 2 ▼ Several school districts across the Twin Cities metro have announced they will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday due to the record-setting, dangerous cold that is expected to settle in Minnesota over the next few days. Wind chills will drop into the 40 to 50 degrees below range Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, according to FOX 9 chief meteorologist Ian Leonard. Air temperatures will also drop to near record low readings on Wednesday and Thursday. At these temperatures, frostbite will be possible in less than five minutes. The University of Minnesota-Twin Cities announced classes starting at noon and later will be canceled on Tuesday and all classes will be canceled on Wednesday. The university, however, will stay open for all other business. Minneapolis Public Schools will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday along with Minneapolis Kids sites. All Minneapolis Community Education evening classes and all athletic and school-sponsored activities are also canceled. The school district said that although the forecasted temperature at the start of school Tuesday does not fall within their standard guideline for closing of 35 degrees below zero, it will quickly drop and will be well past that by the end of the day. The school district will notify families and staff about whether school will be closed Thursday by late Wednesday afternoon. St. Paul Public Schools, Anoka-Hennepin Schools, Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan Public Schools and Osseo Area Schools have also announced they will be closed on Tuesday and Wednesday. All after-school and evening activities are also canceled both days. Many colleges and universities in the area have canceled classes on Tuesday and Wednesday as well. The University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, University of St. Thomas and Metropolitan State University canceled afternoon and evening classes and will all be closed on Wednesday. Macalester College, Concordia University-St. Paul, Augsburg University, Bethel University, Normandale Community College, Anoka-Ramsey Community College are closed both days. St. Catherine University is open Tuesday, but will be closed on Wednesday and Thursday. Carleton College in Northfield remains open. For the latest on school closings, stay tuned to FOX9.com's school closings page. Stay up to date during this week's winter weather by downloading the FOX 9 Weather App. It has the latest temperatures, snow totals, forecasts and school closings 24/7. Download it for Android or Apple.