WGNO

Snowstorm forces hundreds of New Jersey students to sleep in schools

WEST ORANGE, N.J. — A snowstorm that caused chaos for commuters Thursday also left more than two hundred students stranded in New Jersey schools overnight.

School buses were unable to get to schools in West Orange, forcing the district to keep the children overnight into Friday.

Administrators and teachers played host to kids at eight West Orange public schools, including a preschool, who couldn’t get home. Liberty Middle School housed the most students, with about 25 teachers looking after about 100 students overnight.

The school’s principal kept the public updated with pictures and the latest information on their students, who were kept entertained and fed.

As of 5:30 a.m. Friday, staff began serving students French toast for breakfast.

District officials hoped roads would be clear Friday morning so buses could take the students home, but snow began to fall again.

Police drove students whose families couldn’t pick them up back to their homes, school officials said.

A handful of students remained at school as of 9 a.m.

West Orange public schools will be closed Friday.

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