Snow days are becoming extinct.
St. Vrain Valley School District on Tuesday announced it is switching to online learning for inclement weather days.
A letter went out to SVVSD parents Tuesday afternoon announcing the district plans to leverage technology to keep students learning during inclement weather.
The hybrid schedule that was implemented in early October has made Fridays asynchronous, which means the school year is shortened by 32 days.
“We know that every additional day that a student can be in school is critical to their well-being and academic success. To this end, we have been planning strategies to leverage technology due to inclement weather — or other unexpected situations that require the temporary closure of our buildings — so that our students can continue to remain connected with their teachers and their learning,” Haddad stated in Tuesday’s letter to parents.
Haddad on Wednesday said the district has an obligation to educate students when it can, and with technology support for all students that is possible.
SVVSD has spent $4.1 million on technology to support remote learning this school year. That includes providing hotspots and other options for connecting students to the internet, such as working with Comcast to pay for home internet service.
Kerri McDermid, chief communications and global impact officer, said the district this year has been able to meet the connectivity needs of all but a few students who live in the foothills, where connecting to the internet is still troublesome.
Students and families who need support connecting to the internet are encouraged to talk to the principal at their school.
Days on which SVVSD schools would be closed will now become synchronous direct instruction days during which students spend part of their day in online meetings with teachers. The remainder of the day will be asynchronous to allow students to complete assignments.
Those days can include snow days, power outages at individual schools or a maintenance problem that would otherwise shutter a building for a day, McDermid said.
Tuesday’s letter to parents advised that on such days, daily schedules may be different than synchronous online learning days and schools within the next week will notify parents as to what to expect for their students. LaunchED students will not see a change in schedule unless they also are enrolled in a class at their home school.
Some parents have expressed concerns on social media about how teachers will be supported on snow days. McDermid said teachers are already encouraged to take their technology home each night as a precaution during COVID-19.
“You never know when you might be quarantined,” she said.
SVVSD is aware many families appreciate snow days as a chance to enjoy winter activities, to take a mental health break or just to spend time together. Haddad emphasized that parents are still able to excuse students from school on direct instruction days.
