Education majors who teach or observe at local schools might be scrambling for hours as the number of snow days mounts in those districts.
Ohio University students who teach daily at local schools to fulfill an Ohio licensing requirement will not be penalized for missing days because OU has no set hour requirement for student teaching, said Joan Waggoner, administrative coordinator for the Office of Student Teaching.
Nelsonville-York City School District students have missed 10 days of school because of emergency closings. The district will make up half those days during spring break as mandated by school policy, superintendent Ted Bayat said. Nelsonville-York's spring break coincides with that of OU, he said.
If student teachers in that district do not meet the state-mandated five hours per day for elementary schools or five-and-a-half hours for secondary schools, they would have to make up that time during spring break, but that is unlikely, Waggoner said.
Many students are participating in after-school events, such as parent-teacher conferences, to fulfill hours, she said.
Senior Natalie Skeen, an early childhood education major who student teaches at Nelsonville-York Middle School, said it has been difficult getting hours because of the snow days but is not concerned about teaching during spring break.
Administrators have encountered difficulties setting up student teaching opportunities for spring quarter because superintendents and principals have been unavailable because of snow days, Waggoner said.
The early childhood education major requires even more fieldwork than the other 24 majors in the College of Education, said Bill Smith, chair of the Department of Teacher Education.
OU classes about teaching methods and field experience require 20 to 40 hours of classroom observation, and each professor has to make a judgment about whether students must make up that time, Smith said.
Students who observe once a week have had problems completing the required hours because most of the snow days have been Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, said professor Al Cote, coordinator for Southeast Ohio Center for Excellence in Mathematics and Science.
Cote is not requiring students to finish all 20 required hours; instead, they will participate in alternate activities such as watching videos of classes or developing mock lesson plans.
Professor Frans Doppen, who teaches social studies methods classes, said he requires students to complete the 20 required hours but will be flexible in accepting late assignments, as long as they are approved by a student's coordinating teacher in the local schools.
Athens High School and The Plains Elementary have nine total calamity days while the rest of Athens School District has amassed eight, superintendent Carl Martin said.
Athens schools will have class on April 6 to make up for lost time and add other makeup days at the end of the school year, Martin said.
The snow days have taught students and student teachers alike to be flexible. All of my planning has had to be done and redone multiple times to get the kids on track
said Grace Kosmalski, senior moderate-intensive educational needs major teaching at Athens High School.
Federal Hocking School District will make up five days by attending classes the day after Easter and four extra days at the end of the school year, superintendent James Patsey said.
Alexander School District has missed nine days, four of which will be made up at the end of the school year, secretary Phyllis Mansfield said. 17
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