On Wednesday, Windom Area Schools Superintendent Jamie Frank issued a news release regarding future snow days and some of the plans moving forward.
WAS has had to close school seven days so far this year because of weather-related issues which prevented staff and students from reaching school safely.
Frank said that by statute, districts are allowed to use five E-learning days. These are days when teachers and students work from home. WAS has used all five days and since the district has used seven days so far, they need to make up two days. The first will be President’s Day, February 20 and this will now be a school day for students. The second day will be made up by teachers (no students) in June.
If there are any additional snowdays in the future, the plan is as follows:
• The eighth snow day would be made up Monday, March 27 for staff and students.
• The ninth snow day would be made up by teachers only (no students).
Living in Minnesota brings us great weather during all four seasons of the year. As you know, this particular season has been challenging in terms of the snow, wind, freezing rain, and cold windchills. Unfortunately, we’ve had to close school seven days this season due to the inclement weather that prevented us from getting staff and students to school safely.
There is a great deal of communication with many different people that goes into the decision to close school. Communication between the transportation director, the highway department, area superintendents, the Sheriff, and myself is constant during winter storms. We work together to make sure we have all the current information about weather conditions, what the weather prediction is, how the roads are now, and how the roads are anticipated to be in future hours. We put all this information together to make the best call possible for the safety of our students and staff.
By statute, districts are allowed to use 5 E-Learning Days. These are days when teachers and students work from home. We’ve used all five days. Since we have had seven snow days in total, we need to make up two days. The first will be President’s Day, February 20. This will be a school day for students. The second day will be made up by teachers (no students) in June.
If we have additional snowdays in the future, the following is the plan for make up days:
The 8th snow day would be made up on Monday, March 27 for staff and students.
The 9th snow day would be made up by teachers only (no students).
I want to thank families for your understanding during inclement weather days. I would also like to thank our bus drivers and the plow drivers for their hard work. These jobs are not easy and the weather can make it even more challenging.
