“It’s possible, at least for this year, that the state ... (may) allow districts to go remote during snow days,” said Milford Superintendent of Schools Kevin McIntyre. “It wouldn’t be that big of a lift for our teachers or our school because they’ll be very, very engaged in remote learning.”
The MetroWest Daily News reported that with many school districts opting to begin the year either fully or partially remote because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, school leaders were forced to find speedier ways to make remote learning accessible to all students.
Largely, that meant getting laptops, computer software and internet connectivity out to all families, which could mean students can participate in classwork no matter what the weather outside looks like.
“It’s all changed now, as a result of this,” said Framingham Superintendent of Schools Robert Tremblay. “I do think there’s an opportunity to not have snow days anymore.”
For a few years, the state piloted “Blizzard Bags,” or alternative structured learning programs, meant to keep students focused on school work when snow or ice closed school buildings and children stayed home. Lessons ranged from reading assignments, to worksheets, to emailed work completed on school-issued computers. Instructions for lessons prepared ahead of time were sometimes tucked into bags.
That ended in 2019, over concerns that not all students had equitable access to remote learning.
“This year, they’ll be treated like a remote school day,” McIntyre said, of snow days. “We would try to make it as close to a school day as possible.”
Tremblay and McIntyre said their districts and others are waiting for the state to weigh in, both for this year, where districts have remote learning plans already in place, and in the future.
State approval will be needed to count work completed remotely toward the non-pandemic, 180-school day requirement.
Snow days are typically tacked on at the end of the year, pushing classes into summer, when students’ minds tend to be drifting toward vacation, Tremblay pointed out.
“Those are really lost days. They’re never going to be the same value,” he said, as the mid-school year days. “That day made up in June is not going to be the same quality.”
Massachusetts educators aren’t the only ones asking this question. Bryan Olkowski, the superintendent of the Washington Central Supervisory Union, floated the question at a school board meeting at the end of August.
He said he brought it up lightheartedly, but ending snow days could be possible.
David Younce, of the Vermont Superintendents Association, said he hasn’t heard any formal conversations on the topic, but called the idea “common sense commentary.”
“The ability to work and learn from home is going to become more and more normalized, I suspect,” Younce told the Rutland Herald. “I think that makes it much easier to make a decision.”
Even if the Massachusetts gives the go-ahead, concerns beyond learning, such as child care for parents whose workplaces are not closed, would remain.
For this school year, some districts are partnering with organizations like the YMCA to supervise children learning remotely when their legal guardians cannot stay home with them.
Children can still revel in the magic of snow days, McIntyre pointed out.
“They’ll have plenty of time to build a snowman after school,” he said.