Snow Days/School Calendar
Make Up Days
by Greg Barnes
January 12, 2010
There are many questions in the hallways and amongst parents and patrons about making up snow days this school year. As of January 12, 2010, this is what I can share with you at this time.
When we prepared our school calendar for 2009-10, we added six days for snow. Currently we have had six snow days. We are right on schedule with our school calendar calling for the last day of school on May 26, 2010, so we don't have a problem at the present time. Calendar problems arise if we have additional snow days--which is likely given the fact that winter has just begun.
The state of Nebraska requires a specific number of instructional hours, not days. Local school boards may determine how schools meet the hourly requirements. There is no law that states school must be out by any specific date. We could go to school through the end of June if we have too.
As a superintendent, I attempt to have our last day of school for students prior to Memorial Day. If we have many more snow days, that may not be possible this year; however we have numerous options to consider prior to extending the school year into June.
If we have additional snow days, given our current situation, we could easily make up two days on May 27 and 28 and still be out of school by Memorial Day. If we have more than two additional snow days, we might have to look at the Monday of April 5 as a makeup day, as we did in 2009. If we go beyond that, then decisions will need to be made. Do we extend the school day? Do we go to school beyond Memorial Day? Do we cut back the number of school days scheduled keeping in mind that we must still meet the state requirements for hours and instructional units?
As you can see, the options are plentiful, and though we will be having future discussions, no decision has been made. I can tell you that I feel confident that if we can limit additional snow days to two or three, we will be able to adjust our calendar with limited effort, causing little disruption. If we end up going beyond three additional snow days, then we will need to become more creative.
Given the winter we are having, I would be thrilled if we could get through the rest of this winter using three or fewer additional snow days. Keep your fingers crossed!
The 2009-10 School Calendar may be viewed at http://sewardpublicschools.org/pages/0910cal.pdf
Snow Days/School Calendar
| Date | Subject | Posted by: |
|---|---|---|
| 01/25/2010 | Thank you for this information. I have been wondering about this very topic. |
Sue McHugh
|
| 01/25/2010 | Thank you for updating everyone on the process and where we currently stand on the subject of snow days and last day of school. It is very helpful to get the information from the staff and not the rumor mill! |
Troy Cordle
Lincoln Ne
911 dispatcher
|
