Not many weather events shut down everything, but the recent snowstorm that has been dubbed the Ides of March blizzard because the bulk of it occurred March 15 left schools across the state with closed doors.
Prior to the blizzard, another snowstorm passed through impacting schools. Although schools in the Shawano area went on as usual, schools in Menominee, Oconto and western Shawano counties canceled classes March 13 as several inches fell in the area, making roads hazardous.
That was nothing compared to the blizzard two days later. Shawano recorded 33 inches of snow, while Oconto Falls received over 26 inches. Schools closed March 16 as the snow continued into the afternoon, but they also closed March 17 to allow school work crews to clear parking lots, sidewalks and other areas so students and staff could safely return.
Now superintendents are also left with a mess of another kind as many schools that had to cancel school so late in the season are figuring out how to balance things so the schools are in compliance with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction’s requirements for annual school time. Once determined by the number of days schools are in session, that was changed in recent years to the number of minutes.
Gresham School District Superintendent Newell Haffner is hopeful that Gov. Tony Evers will make an emergency declaration that will impact whether schools have to make up the lost time.
“My personal belief is that, if the governor calls for a state of emergency for the snowstorm/blizzard, schools should not have to make them up,” Haffner said. “We don’t have that many inclement weather days that impact the entire state.”
Gresham does not have virtual learning that can be an alternative to being in-person, Haffner said, so unless circumstances change, the district is looking at making up at least one day to be in compliance. He said there are two days where students are scheduled to be out of school, so the district will be turning one of those into an instructional day.
Gillett School District Superintendent Nathan Hanson said his district does utilize virtual learning when there’s a heads-up on bad weather so teachers can give students their school work ahead of time in case of internet loss.
“For example, in this recent storm, we were able to prepare for Friday and Monday, but we did not prepare for Tuesday,” Hanson said. “So we utilized the virtual/remote model for Friday and Monday but called the day entirely off on Tuesday.”
Wittenberg-Birnamwood School District Superintendent Garrett Rogowski said the district called for remote learning for March 16-17, even though the district schedule allows for calling off school for several days.
“DPI provides an allowance for virtual instruction to be provided during days when students are not physically attending in-person,” Rogowski said. “We also have multiple days built in our schedule that allow us to call a snow day and not require virtual instruction.”
Marion School District Superintendent Troy Edwards said his district was in a bit of a dilemma, as calling off school put Marion out of compliance by two days’ worth of minutes. To make things up, Marion is adding 10 minutes to the end of the day at the elementary school and 20 minutes at the high school to get back into compliance.
“We are starting earlier in the day and added minutes to each period and extended the school day for the rest of the year to get the needed minutes,” Edwards said, adding the time needs to be made up by May 15 to allow the construction of its new high school to stay on schedule for completion this summer.
Shawano School District Superintendent Kurt Krizan is under a similar time crunch, as projects at Shawano Community High School are expected to return to full-strength in May. He said that Shawano has missed a total of 27 1/2 instructional hours due to the blizzard.
“The district is currently communicating with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction to ensure compliance with instructional hour requirements,” Krizan said. “As part of our planning moving forward, Shawano School District will be incorporating virtual learning days for future inclement weather events. Communication will be sent to families outlining how virtual learning will be implemented should additional weather-related disruptions occur.”
Bowler School District Superintendent Glenda Butterfield-Boldig is also chatting with DPI to look at the current situation. She said she hopes Evers will provide a waiver, because so many schools in the state were affected.
“Bowler does not currently offer virtual learning as an option, like other schools do, so we will be working with the DPI to make sure we meet the required number of instructional minutes,” Butterfield-Boldig said. “We have several options available to us currently but won’t make any final decisions until we’re sure the weather will cooperate for the rest of the school year.”
lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com
