CHANGING TIMES FOR SNOW DAYS
Virtual learning endangers the tradition in some districts, but others keep it alive
Connecticut residents may see a foot or more of snow on Thursday, but students in many school districts can still expect to have classes through online learning.
“I find the idea of a snow day a little antiquated in this day and age,” said Gov. Ned Lamont on Wednesday. “Over half of our kids have been doing virtual learning on sunny days over the last several months, and we’ve made a big effort to bridge that digital divide. I’d like to think our kids will continue learning tomorrow.”
After a meeting with the state Board of Education in October, state education Commissioner Miguel Cardona informed superintendents that they may choose to treat snow days as remote learning days or as days to be made up later in the school year. State guidelines encourage superintendents in neighboring districts to discuss potential closures and make a decision the night before a school closure is expected.
While some districts, including Glastonbury and East Hartford, previously released snow day plans, their schools have already shifted to online-only learning until January due to staffing shortages and concerns about rising case numbers. Nearly 44% of districts operated primarily in a fully remote learning model from Nov. 30 to Dec. 4, according to the state’s most recent update.
Bloomfield Superintendent of Schools James Thompson Jr., told families in a notice Monday “the district will continue with its remote-learning model, regardless of weather.” That same day, Norwalk Public Schools announced plans to shift to onlineonly learning Thursday until Jan. 4 because of the snow.
“With the arrival of the expected storm, combined with a short holiday week and early dismissal next week, we believe this option will be the best way to provide consis
tency for families and staff,” school officials wrote. “By planning to return January 4, students and staff can make sure that they have all the necessary devices and materials with them at the end of the day Wednesday.”
The district changed plans Wednesday afternoon, announcing classes would not be held Thursday “due to the unpredictability of a storm this intense.” Remote education is expected to begin Friday.
In Hartford, where some students are learning through a mix of online and in-person education and others are fully remote, administrators told families Friday the district “may make the decision to shift to remote learning for all students and close school buildings.”
Decisions on whether to delay school openings or shift to a remote learning day are based upon factors including recommendations from local authorities, accumulation of ice and snow, the ability of buses to safely complete routes and whether schools have power and heat, they explained.
“If winter weather conditions are severe and cause widespread power outages, HPS may make the decision to close schools and also cancel all remote learning for a day,” they said, noting parents should expect to be informed about such decisions between 5:15 a.m. and 5:45 a.m.
Vernon Public Schools plan to use remote learning days instead of traditional snow days “as much as possible,” Superintendent of Schools Joseph Macary said Tuesday, unless homes lose power.
“School days during the year from December to March are more valuable instructional time for teaching and learning than those in June,” he said. “Maximizing student learning for all children is our primary goal.”
Sticking with snow days
Still, some Connecticut school districts plan to give students a few traditional snow days, with no classes. Deb Polun, chair of the West Hartford Board of Education, said several board members saw it as a small way of maintaining some sense of normalcy during the pandemic.
“There’s something sweet about a traditional snow day, knowing you have the day off. You can sleep in, play in the snow, just kind of relax,” she said. “We didn’t want to take that completely away.”
However, some winters bring nine or 10 snow days that students then have to make up in June, Polun added.
“We don’t really want our students in school all the way through June,” she said. “So, our compromise was to ask our superintendent and central office team to provide for up to two traditional snow days, then make the rest remote learning days.”
Region 6 and Litchfield Superintendent of Schools Chris Leone, “a firm believer in the importance to childhood of the snow day,” told The Courant administrators have decided to set a last day of school in advance and “work backwards from there,” adjusting as needed.
Leone said in a letter to parents Tuesday the district’s “goal is to find some consistency for our students, staff, and parents, in a year fraught with constant inconsistency and change.”
He explained the concept of remote learning replacing snow days is “nothing new and has been debated for several years,” and despite state guidelines, “there is still a multitude of issues that one cannot address in just guidance.”
“These issues include the timing of storms, full closure vs. delays, keeping a consistent schedule for all students, the needfor child care for our younger students, allowing teachers the necessary time to prepare meaningful remote instruction and potential during storms for power or internet outages,” he said, noting some schools are doing in-person learning, while others are fully remote.
“In summary, there is not one scenario that works to thoughtfully switch a snow day for a remote day,” hesaid.
If some schools are in-person at the time of a storm, snow days will continue as they have in the past. With plans to close schools no later than June 18, the calendar in Region 6 and Litchfield schools allows for up to five snow days. If all schools are remote during a storm, students will have two traditional snow days with no classes. For the following days of inclement weather, students will continue online classes.
“Should we have a rough winter, and experience more than five days of closure, I will update everyone accordingly on changes and next steps,” he added.
New Britain Superintendent of Schools Nancy Sarra has already told students to expect a day off Thursday.
“There will be no need to log in for any assignments and there will be no need to be in front of the computer at different times during the day,” she wrote in a notice to families Wednesday. “We’ve all lost out on so much already in 2020 - we hope that keeping the snow day tradition for one last time as we near the end of the year provides a sense of normalcy and a bit of joy.”