A normal school morning can turn into a day filled with snow, cold, and e-learning assignments with a single email.
Waking up and getting the email that school is canceled because of the cold, snow, or ice, is something we all hoped for, or dreaded. This winter season has given us snow, ice, and freezing temperatures which have resulted in multiple e-learning days. But what circumstances were needed in order to have those e-learning days?
It takes a team to determine and finalize whether or not there should be an e-learning day.
Mrs. Scumaci, the assistant principal in operations, states that decisions regarding e-learning days are made by Dr. Larson and the surrounding area Superintendents that he works with. They decide whether the conditions are safe enough to get into the building and back home.
Mrs. Scumaci also says, “We also need to verify that our grounds and building can be maintained throughout the day pending on what type of weather we have.” This includes snow removal, ice, frozen pipes in the building, leaks, and more. These decisions that the team makes are not made lightly and all aspects of it are put into consideration.
It really depends on the circumstances of the day and school as well as decisions are made on a case by case basis. There aren’t any specific measurable factors.
The most recent e-learning day we had, on January 23rd, was an unexpected one. The decision was made that it would be an ice day due to the slippery, icy roads and streets as well as the cold temperatures that assured to keep the roads that way.
This meant that buses would have had trouble starting and would’ve had to be careful because of the accidents that could happen on the road. Getting to school and back by walking or driving would’ve also resulted in accidents if students were not careful on the sidewalks, and traffic would’ve occurred due to slow cars.
