Dozens of greater Capital Region schools could close during eclipse

Schoharie Central School District will close for the 2024 total solar eclipse on April 8. Middleburgh Central School District, on the other hand, will send 260 students, administrators, faculty and chaperones directly into the path of totality — an area fully submerged in darkness.

“It should be a fun day,” said Middleburgh Superintendent Mark Place.

Two batches of junior high schoolers equipped with protective eyewear will be bused north to catch a glimpse of the moon passing between the sun and Earth. Middleburgh’s elementary wing, however, will be closed.

On a typical school day, students in both districts are shuttled home around 3 p.m. The eclipse is expected to begin in southern Schoharie County at 2:10 p.m. peak at 3:20 p.m. and end at 4:30 p.m.

The only safe moment to view the eclipse without specialty glasses is during totality. Otherwise, a peek at the radiating rings can cause permanent blindness and distorted vision.

“It really is out of an abundance of caution in keeping our students safe that we came to the decision of closing for the day,” said Schoharie Superintendent David Blanchard. “And parents and families that want to spend the day with their kids during the eclipse are able to do so.”

The district originally considered holding a half day to avoid traveling during the dangerous spectacle. Two weeks ago, officials opted to avoid holding classes altogether, expecting that attendance would be poor otherwise.

Schoharie’s decision isn’t anomalous. A Daily Gazette Family of Newspapers analysis found at least 13 school districts in the greater Albany metro area could completely close on the day of the eclipse and one will hold a superintendent’s conference day. This will impact a total student population of more than 14,500 in 30-plus schools.

For most of those systems, the prospective off-day is contingent on whether a storm results in up to three snow days within the next 24 days. Typically, between three to five snow days are available each year.

Although spring officially begins on March 18 and the winter has been unseasonably mild so far, National Weather Service meteorologist Christina Speciale said the possibility of snowfall accumulation can linger on as late as May. Temperatures are expected to drop into the 20s this week.

“Especially in this coming week, we will turn colder and there are some signs that we may have some opportunities with snow, but will that snow result in a school closing?” Speciale said. “That we don’t have any confidence on yet because it’s still too early.”

Within the 110-mile-wide path of totality, hundreds of schools in and beyond the snowbelt — 11 contiguous states — are shutting doors for the day amid concerns over so-called eclipse chasers disrupting traffic and gazers staring into the sun without protection.

In New York, the path of totality will cross 29 counties — including the cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Watertown — and appear in 33 other counties with as much as 88% to 99% visibility. Most of the Capital Region will experience 96% to 97% coverage.

The state Department of Education has encouraged schools to plan ahead to avoid potential conflicts with regular academic and extracurricular activities.

Gloversville Enlarged School Superintendent David Halloran in an email said that closing “wasn’t a heavy lift to arrive at that decision.”

New Lebanon and Schuylerville schools plan to dismiss classes early. The Saratoga County school district has also opted to hold athletic practices inside until 5 p.m.

“While this is a unique educational opportunity, it also presents a safety issue, requiring specialized eye protection for solar viewing,” Schuylerville Acting Superintendent James Ducharme said in a post on the district’s website.

Voorheesville Central School District intends to stay open, but is still allowing parents to pick their kids up early.

“The timing of the eclipse, when children are transitioning to their homes, after-school activities and after-school care presents a challenge to provide sufficient adult supervision,” said Voorheesville Superintendent Frank Macri in a post on the district’s website.

Canajoharie Central School District is expected to announce plans for the eclipse “probably Tuesday,” Superintendent Nick Fitzgerald said in an email.

Officials in the Albany City School District — which is 11 times larger than the rural Mohawk Valley school system — are “still deliberating” plans, according to Superintendent Joseph Hochreiter last week. He didn’t follow up to a request for an update.

Empire State schools aren’t expected to deal with another total solar eclipse until 2079 and for schools elsewhere in the contiguous U.S., 2044.

While total solar eclipses aren’t uncommon on Earth, it can take some 375 years for the event to occur at some locations. This is a matter of odds, as the sun is 400 times larger than the Moon and the Moon is on average about 30 Earths away.

Galway Central School District Superintendent Brita Donovan said that system officials are taking advantage of the timing. A year ago, the rural district launched a steering committee focused on incorporating solar themes into the curriculum.

“The art classes have done projects with a solar eclipse,” Donovan said. “Our music concerts were just [recently] and they were singing ‘Here Comes the Sun’ and I don’t know, it was very cute.”

For students in the district’s science club, literary club and television program, the solar-bration will be topped off with a trip to SUNY Plattsburgh to view the eclipse in the path of totality. The event will be live-streamed for the rest of the student body.

Fort Edward Union Free School District hopes to send one busload of 50 upper class students — 12% of the district headcount — to Lake Placid that day. The remainder of the district will have classes as usual.

“Obviously, if it’s a cloudy day or something happens that day, then I’ll be a little sad,” said Fort Edward Superintendent Richard DeMallie.

Protective glasses and bottles of sunscreen for the trip were purchased with a cancer prevention grant from the Glens Falls Hospital Health Promotion Center.

Northville Central School District, which is closing for the eclipse, plans to give 200 glasses during a March 26 eclipse safety presentation starting at 6 p.m., according to district spokesperson Shannon Fitzgerald.

Solar eclipse glasses are 100,000 times darker than regular shades. They didn’t become widely available on the market until about 50 years after the last total solar eclipse hit upstate New York.

Costs for a pair range between $3 to $3.50. But, depending on the location, prospective observers can get a set for free.

Across the country, public libraries and other entities have received five million glasses from the Solar Eclipse Activities for Libraries project. This includes 45 locations across all 11 countries.

Only one site in Schoharie County received glasses from the project, the Sharon Springs Public Library. For those on the southeastern end of the 626-square area, the closest site is in Albany County.

“Our library, here locally, didn’t have that option,” Schoharie schools superintendent said. “So at the end of the day, we felt it was safer not to be in session and worry about our students while they’re transitioning.”

In neighboring Middleburgh, Place, a former Earth science teacher, has been planning the junior-senior high school’s eclipse trip for about a year. His interest blossomed after hearing about a similar event in Western Australia in April of 2023.

“That’s sort of how this played into it,” he said.

He’ll be accompanying students in grades seven through 11 during a morning tour of Hamilton College before heading out to the Lewis County Fairgrounds in Lowville to observe the celestial marvel. Senior students will view the eclipse from the Wild Center in Tupper Lake.