New Paltz Superintendent Makes Unhinged School Closing Announcement

A Hudson Valley school administrator has gone viral after the insane way he declared a snow day.

With over 18 inches of snow predicted to fall across the Hudson Valley on Sunday evening, schools throughout the region proactively decided to close on Monday. While most students learned of the closing through a simple text message or alert on their portal, one school district declared its snow day in a very unique way.

New Paltz Superintendent Wild Snow Closing Announcement

New Paltz Superintendent of Schools, Stephen Gratto, made Monday's school closing something that students and parents won't soon forget.

In a video posted to social media, Gratto can be seen dressed in a suit and New Paltz cap while balancing on a tall unicycle. Holding a bright, red umbrella in one hand and a snow scraper in the other, the administrator called his unicycle the "mobile sky weather lab" and explained that from way up there, he could see that snow was on the way.

While carefully balancing on one wheel, Gratto told students that they would not have school on Monday and reminded them to be careful during the upcoming storm.

At first, some thought the wild video was created with the help of A.I., but upon further inspection, it's clear that the video is genuine.

History of Wild Snow Closing Announcements

This is not the first time Gratto has found a creative way to tell students that they would not have classes. The New Paltz Central School District's Instagram page is filled with previous videos from Gratto that show him sledding down a hill, making snow angels, riding down a giant ice slide and even juggling snowballs.

Before joining the New Paltz Central School District in 2022, Gratto was the superintendent of Schroon Lake Central School District. He has been an educator since 1994, working as a physics teacher in New York and New Hampshire.

According to his biography on the school district's website, Gratto performs as a juggler and unicyclist with his sons, which explains the crazy snow closing videos.