Everybody loves a snow day — and what better way to announce the decision to close school than a superintendent riding a tiger.
That’s what Strasburg-Franklin Local Schools Superintendent Vince Lindsey did when he canceled classes on Jan. 15 due to snowfall.
That announcement set off a friendly competition among local superintendents to see who could come up with the most creative post on social media. So far, there have been administrators on a bobsled, throwing snowballs at each other and snowboarding with the school mascot; an AI-generated dancing superintendent; and spoofs on Mr. Rogers, “Christmas Vacation” and “Saved by the Bell,” among others.
“I have to give Matt Carpenter, our director of pupil services, credit,” said Lindsey, who served as principal at Massillon Intermediate School before taking the top job at Strasburg. “He leans into AI. AI is here to stay whether we like it or not. In education, we have to stay ahead of it.”
Lindsey said he wanted to have fun with the AI-generated images that have accompanied his notices that school is canceled due to bad weather.
“Schools are allowed to have fun and be positive so I chose to ride a tiger. It got a great reaction,” he said. “It’s just a conversation piece, and we can keep it positive. We know how social media can be and this is how we can control it.”
Fun AI-generated images become trendy
Other superintendents joined in.
“We don’t take calamity days lightly, but this has led to some community engagement and a little competition between the schools,” Lake Local Superintendent Brett Yeagley said.
Yeagley’s announcements have included him high-fiving the Lake Blue Streak mascot while its Federal League rival mascots are encased in ice, an “Office” spoof featuring Michael Scott and another with the “Save By the Bell” gang.
“You may not be Saved by the Bell, but you have been Saved by the Windchill,” the announcement for Jan. 28 read.
Sandy Valley Local School officials have embraced movies like “Star Wars” and “The Day After Tomorrow” for their announcements.
“We’ve had a lot of fun with it. Once we saw Vince’s, there was no way we were going to be one-upped by him,” Superintendent Matt Whitted said with a chuckle.
Whitted said the images have brought in positive feedback.
“Our kids love it. AI is part of our world,” he said. “We’ve gotten great comments and the kids are having fun with it. One even said, ‘Mr. Whitted you’re winning the AI war.'”
Like Lake, Sandy Valley is taking on some of its rivals.
After Brown Local Schools Superintendent Danielle Hawk froze rival mascots, including the Sandy Valley Cardinal, Whitted returned the favor by burying Brown Local’s hornet mascot (disguised as the Statue of Liberty) in snow.
Whitted credits his secretary and the district’s public relations team with creating the AI images.
Canton City Schools got in on the fun with its Jan. 28 announcement featuring a snowball battle between Assistant Superintendent Jason Dixon and Superintendent Jeff Talbert.
Minerva, Marlington, Perry, Malvern have also featured mascots, school administrators, abominable snowmen, Elsa and movies to announce school is closed.
St. Joan of Arc turned to the classic Christmas movie “Christmas Vacation” for its latest announcement.
“It’s all about culture and relationships and commucation,” Lindsey said. “Our kids are having a good time and we need that when its dark and cold and snowy.”
Reach Amy at 330-775-1135 or amy.knapp@indeonline.com.
School’s out
Here’s a look at some more creative images and videos that area school districts are sharing on social media. Check out their Facebook pages for more:
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Canton-area schools embrace zany AI images when calling off classes
Reporting by Amy L. Knapp, Massillon Independent / The Repository
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