Winter is coming and with it the possibility of inclement weather. This year the St. Vrain Valley School District is ready to announce its updated snow day plans.
At the Board of Education meeting on Wednesday night, Superintendent Don Haddad announced to the board that parents will receive notification in the coming days about the district’s protocol.
“Learning Services has done, what we believe to be, a great job striking a balance. We will have school when we have snow days,” Haddad said.
Although classes will be in session, the school day will be condensed with students being released from learning by 11:30 a.m.
Last year, SVVSD omitted school days, asking students to engage with teachers through virtual learning when they were unable to physically get to school.
This year, virtual learning will continue on school days but schedules will be condensed to allow students the opportunity to step away from technology for part of the day. Included in the shortened day will be an hour-long office hour for students and teachers to connect outside of group learning, Haddad said.
“We feel that that will be a real benefit for our teachers to be able to continue the pacing of their curriculum and also for students to be able to get some of that direction and then also have a balanced day,” Haddad said.
In order to facilitate online learning during the pandemic, the district purchased an iPad for every student. In March, the school board approved a purchase agreement with Apple for more than $14 million as part of its Learning Technology Plan. The agreement included the purchase of over 26,000 iPads with rugged keyboard cases along with support services and opportunities for teacher development.
“We’ve invested quite a bit of money in technology and resources and it creates an excellent opportunity for our children,” Haddad said.
