WHITHER THE SCHOOL SNOW DAY?
Remote learning could make weather-related school closings a thing of the past
Is the traditional “snow day” a thing of the past for students in the south and southwest suburbs?
Many school districts shifted to remote, or e-learning, Wednesday in response to the winter storm.
Remote learning isn’t anything new for thousands of Southland students who’ve had to attend classes virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic, but for many districts Wednesday was the first time they’ve used the option due to a weather event.
In 2015, the Illinois State Board of Education established what was called the virtual option for inclement weather plan that allowed schools that had the ability to teach students remotely to do so in the event of snow or other conditions that would make in-person learning impossible.
The pandemic, in a way, greatly expanded the number of districts that are able to provide remote learning as an option to closing due to the weather, as they tapped federal coronavirus stimulus money to buy laptops and tablet computers for students and provide Wi-Fi hot spots in neighborhoods where internet access is spotty or nonexistent.
While students who pray for a big school-closing snow might not be exactly thrilled, school districts like the option because they’re not having to tack on days at the end of the school year to make up for weather-related closings.
High School District 230, with Carl Sandburg in Orland Park, Stagg in Palos Hills and Andrew in Tinley Park, was among the first districts in Illinois to have its emergency e-learning plan approved by the state, before the pandemic made remote learning the norm for school districts, according to Carla Erdey, the district’s spokeswoman.
The district previously had five emergency closing days built into the school calendar to accommodate closings due to weather, and Wednesday was the first time it used its e-learning plan a weather event, she said.
The district used one e-learning day at the start of this semester for
a staffing shortage, and another was used for a power outage at Andrew High School in Tinley Park this school year, Erdey said.
Blondean Davis oversees Matteson Elementary District 162 and Southland College Prep Charter High School in Richton Park, and both used an emergency e-learning day Wednesday.
They’ll both do the same Thursday, along with Richton Park/ Matteson District 159, Country Club Hills District 160, Park Forest-Chicago Heights District 163 and Rich Township High School District 227. Davis said the decision to go another day with remote learning came after a Zoom meeting among school districts that feed into District 227.
“I don’t think it’s a thing of the past,” Davis said of the traditional snow day, noting the districts have a limited number of days they can use for remote learning due to the weather, be it snow or extreme cold.
The ISBE-approved e-learning plan allows for five days of remote education, but District 162 used three of those days after
the December holiday break due to a requirement that students have a negative COVID-19 test before returning to classes. With Wednesday and Thursday also being declared e-learning days, the district wouldn’t have any available if another weather event forces the cancellation of classes, Davis said.
In the Zoom meeting Wednesday, Davis said that elementary district superintendents whose schools feed into District 227 opted for an additional e-learning day Thursday in no small part because of issues school bus companies were reporting due to the weather. With snow on side streets perhaps not cleared in time for school Thursday morning, that would mean elementary age students having to walk farther to the nearest bus stop, and bus schedules themselves affected by the weather.
“With the wind chills and weather in general we can’t have small children out in that,” Davis said.
Elementary districts including Homer Glen 33C, Alsip-Hazelgreen-Oak
Lawn District 126, Orland District 135 in Orland Park and Kirby District 140 in Tinley Park shifted to remote learning Wednesday.
Area high school districts also having students learn remotely Wednesday included Thornton Township District 205, which has schools in Dolton, Harvey and South Holland, and Lincoln-Way District 210, which has schools in Frankfort and New Lenox.
High School District 218, which has Eisenhower High School in Blue Island, Richards in Oak Lawn and Shepard in Palos Heights, shifted to remote learning as well. It told parents and students that if they experienced technology issues or problems with internet connections due to the weather, the students would be able to make up e-learning assignments once in-person learning resumes.
Also going remote Wednesday were District 218 with Bremen High School in Midlothian, Hillcrest in Country Club Hills and Tinley Park and Oak Forest high schools.
Communities including Chicago
Heights, Homewood, Lansing, Matteson, Oak Lawn and Orland Park informed residents that garbage collection would resume Thursday due to the snowstorm, which was expected to bring several inches of snow Wednesday and into Thursday.
Calumet City notified residents that City Hall would be closed both Wednesday and Thursday due to the weather, and other village offices closed early Wednesday, including Dolton and South Holland.
Will County’s County Building in downtown Joliet closed at noon Wednesday due to the weather, but was scheduled to reopen at 8:30 a.m. Thursday.
Casey Sullivan, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said the highest total recorded during the storm so far was 10 inches in Braidwood, which is in southern Will County.