November 6, 2024
Parents and Guardians,
On Tuesday, November 12, 2024, the school district will operate an asynchronous remote learning day in conjunction with the Parent-Teacher Conferences. Building principals and teachers will communicate learning activities and attendance procedures to students and families similar to those used on virtual snow days, along with procedures to schedule parent-teacher conferences.
The remote learning day enables the school calendar to include 180 school days. In years past, the school district utilized Act 80 days to offset the days needed for each school year while meeting the hour requirement. In 2023, Act 56 gave schools more flexibility in how they calculate instructional time. The law removes the need for schools to get approval from the Secretary of Education and allows schools to create schedules that meet either the day or hour requirement only. Meeting the 180-day requirement may give the school calendar flexibility in the future.
Also, having the planned Remote Learning Day prepares students and families for virtual snow days if the need arises. Currently, the last day of school is scheduled for Tuesday, June 3, 2025. When winter weather prohibits normal operations, we will utilize a combination of school delays, school cancellations, snow make-up days, and virtual snow days striving to not push the last day of school beyond Friday, June 6, 2025.
Delay Guidelines:
When necessary, the school district will operate on a 2-hour delay schedule Monday – Thursday.
When necessary, the school district will operate on a 1-hour delay schedule on Fridays.
Cancellations Guidelines:
There are two (2) built-in snow days in the 2024-25 school calendar therefore, cancellations occurring after these days will be added to the end of the school year, affecting the dates of summer vacation and commencement. The last day of school is scheduled for Tuesday, June 3, 2025, with make-up days to follow. If history is a predictor, there will be additional days added to our school year. Please keep this in mind when making your summer travel plans.
In cases of impending weather, we may use virtual snow days that consist of remote learning with the opportunity for virtual student check-ins with teachers. Virtual snow days will be communicated by noon the day before the predicted winter weather. The announcement on the day before the virtual snow day does not guarantee the virtual instructional day. Therefore, the final announcement will be made on the day of the anticipated virtual snow day because sometimes substantial snowfalls are predicted, and then miss our region.
The decision to cancel school for cold weather will only occur in case of extreme wind chill temperatures and/or the transportation provider’s inability to safely operate all vehicles.
A school delay may turn into a cancellation depending on deteriorating weather conditions and/or weather forecasts.
Early Dismissal Guidelines:
The decision to delay or cancel school must be made by 6:15 am. Therefore, once the decision to open school is made, we cannot reverse our decision without endangering students, and students will not be immediately returned home unless the weather is forecast to substantially worsen during the school day.
If weather or conditions get worse during the school day, we may need to have any early dismissal, but we will try to give adequate notice to all parents by phone and text.
I hope everyone has a restful long weekend and a successful remote learning day on Tuesday, November 12, 2024. As winter weather enters the forecast, please be aware of the potential need to adjust to the school schedule.
Thanks,
Tom Mitchell