Schools To Make Up Snow Days

EACH SCHOOL TAKING DIFFERENT APPROACH

FARMINGTON — The Farmington, Prairie Grove and Lincoln school districts are looking at several options to make up their snow days.

Farmington teachers voted Friday to return from their Christmas break one day early. The second semester will start Friday, Jan. 3, instead of Monday, Jan. 6.

Superintendent Bryan Law said staff discussed even returning to school on Jan. 2 but realized some teachers and students would not be back from trips planned over the two-week Christmas break.

Farmington missed five days of school and will make up the other days on Jan. 20, the Martin Luther King Day holiday, Feb. 17 for Presidents Day, and March 21, scheduled for parent-teacher conferences. The fifth day will be added to the school calendar, making May 30 now the last day of school for 2013-14.

“That’s about as good as we can come out on the deal,” Law said Friday.

If the school misses more snow days in the second semester, Law said the district would look at adding more days to the end of the year, using part of Spring Break or the possibility of considering Saturday school. He said he’s very hesitant to take away any days during Spring Break because it would interfere with plans made by families and church groups during that week.

“What we do will depend on how much we get,” Law said.

Prairie Grove students missed six days of school. They will make up two days on the Martin Luther King holiday and Presidents Day holiday, said Allen Williams, superintendent. The remaining four days will be added onto the end of the school year. Prairie Grove’s last day of school will be May 30.

Williams said his staff discussed whether to come back to school a few days early for second semester but decided against it.

“I think it’s just too close to make a change with that,” Williams said. “People already have plans.”

If the school misses any more days during second semester then the School Board would have to decide what to do at that point. Williams noted he is not a big fan of Saturday classes but may have to reconsider if more bad weather forces school to close down.

Williams said the last day for the first semester will be Jan. 6, 2014. By state law, students have to go to school at least 80 days per semester and Prairie Grove missed that requirement by one day. However, he said finals will go on as planned this week.

The Lincoln School District took advantage of the missed days to call in teachers for two in-service days that were scheduled for next semester, according to Mary Ann Spears, superintendent. Spears said middle school and high school teachers showed up Thursday and Friday to work on strategies and data analysis.

Lincoln missed seven days of school and was still out Friday.

“We have 146 square miles and lots of dirt roads and hills that just weren’t safe,” Spears said. “It’s brutal.”

Spears said students will make up three snow days on Jan. 20, March 14 and Good Friday, April 18.

The district will probably add on days to the end of the year and also will look at Saturday school.

She said she did not want to add too many days to the end of the calendar in case students have to miss more snow days during the second semester.

Like Prairie Grove, Lincoln’s first semester now will have to extend into January.

However, Spears said finals would go on as scheduled this week.

“The students just don’t do well when they have to take finals when they come back,” she added.