Though local K-12 students celebrate their double-digit number of snow days with snowmen and snowball fights, administrators are anxious about the repercussions of missing so much school.
However, as school cancellations pile up and with more brutal weather coming this week, school officials are biting their lips, anxiously counting already exceeded calamity days and making changes in schedules.
“According to the state law, we only get five calamity days,” said Carl Martin, superintendent of Athens City School District. “There have been fifteen snow days this year.”
Martin added such unexpected breaks could affect students’ academic achievement more than anything.
“Snow days really affect academic programs regarding consistency (of number of students) in the classroom. It does play heavy on schedule, too,” said Martin.
But as spotty school days stack up, educators are concerned students may not be prepared for standardized tests, such as the Ohio Graduation Test, Martin said.
When asked if there will be any delay on the test dates, John Charlton, an Ohio Department of Education spokesperson, said that it has not been decided.
He said, “Potentially, there will be extending the testing window between April 24 and May 9, so that teachers and students get another week prior to the assessment.”
Charlton further assured that the state and the districts are putting forward efforts to minimize the possible negative effect on students’ academic achievement.
“It’s important that students get education,” said Charlton. “There has been flexibility provided from districts this year regarding snow days, which will minimize the possible negative effect on students’ academic achievement.”
But there will be some hurt in budgeting this year due to so many school closures, according to Charlton.
“The snow days cut the number of days that students are in school,” he said. “So there are some changes to be made in curriculum, which can affect the budget.”
To alleviate the situation, the Ohio House is considering a bill, HB 416, which would increase the number of calamity days a school is allowed to have, as well as to permit schools to make up those missed in half-hour increments.
But at the moment, state legislators are holding off on a vote, as more snowy weather may be on the way, according to media reports.
“(The) governor has been talking to the legislature about adding extra three or four more calamity days. And it is in the process of being discussed,” said Charlton.
Chaora Gretz, a mother of two kids who go to Beacon School, expressed her concern that “it can be a backlash.”
“Kids get free breakfast and lunch when they’re in school,” she said. “So for low-income parents like myself, having kids at home can be financially hard, not just because we have to take care of our kids.”
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