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Winter storms have caused local educators to cancel three school days, but those days are being tacked on to the end of the school year, according to Interim District Superintendent Jo Lynn Wilson.
School was canceled once each of the last three months, according to district officials.
The last two “were called because the roads were too narrow for students to wait safely at bus stops,” said Director of Transportation, Nanette Rondeau by e-mail. “The buses also would not be able to travel on the narrow roadways.”
Rondeau communicates with several local agencies and the National Weather Service before making a recommendation on closing schools for the day to the district superintendent by 4 a.m.
Determining factors include weather and road and facility conditions, according to written district procedures.
The board of directors decided, during their Feb. 6 board meeting, to extend the year from June 12, the original last day of school, to June 17, with six days being the maximum extension, Wilson wrote.
“Consideration was given to the fact that we are a Program Improvement district, that many schools need the days to meet their minimum number of minutes required by the state, and that student learning suffers when days are lost,” Wilson wrote in the memo distributed in the district last Wednesday.
The board specified that the extra days should be spent with “academic instruction ... not extra curricular activities and events,” according to Wilson.
That should not be a problem at North Tahoe High School, as final exams are scheduled during the last three days of the year, said Assistant Principal Stephanie Welsh.
Adjusting for snow days could create more pressure for the teachers during the spring testing season, because the standardized No Child Left Behind tests are scheduled on set days, Welsh said.
High school seniors are one group of students who have reason to cheer for snow days. Graduation is set for June 10 this year and that is not affected by the weather, according to school administrators.
“[I] go back to sleep then go skiing,” said North Tahoe Senior and office aid Dan Koenig, 17, of the day out of class.
In the past when he was not an upperclassman, he said he would be disappointed during the extra school hours in June.
“But, it was worth it,” he said referring to the fresh power he skied as a tradeoff.
Another reason seniors receive special consideration is college admission, according to Welsh. It is possible that a seniors’ chances of being accepted to a college in the fall could be harmed by late transcripts caused by an extended school year, she said. Students that are required to start sports training over the summer could be further affected, she added.
Employees on a 10-month contract get snow days off along with the students, while 12-month contracted employees are required to show up, Wilson said.
“I love the snow days,” said North Tahoe Art and Photography Teacher Peggy Heidelberger-Smith, an avid skier. “The kids know it, I’m out there with the best of them.”
Each additional snow day this year will push the school year back an extra day until June 20 —the latest possible last day of the 2007-2008 school year, wrote Wilson.
Snow days are not budgeted into the school year, Wilson said.
School was canceled once each of the last three months, according to district officials.
The last two “were called because the roads were too narrow for students to wait safely at bus stops,” said Director of Transportation, Nanette Rondeau by e-mail. “The buses also would not be able to travel on the narrow roadways.”
Rondeau communicates with several local agencies and the National Weather Service before making a recommendation on closing schools for the day to the district superintendent by 4 a.m.
Determining factors include weather and road and facility conditions, according to written district procedures.
The board of directors decided, during their Feb. 6 board meeting, to extend the year from June 12, the original last day of school, to June 17, with six days being the maximum extension, Wilson wrote.
“Consideration was given to the fact that we are a Program Improvement district, that many schools need the days to meet their minimum number of minutes required by the state, and that student learning suffers when days are lost,” Wilson wrote in the memo distributed in the district last Wednesday.
The board specified that the extra days should be spent with “academic instruction ... not extra curricular activities and events,” according to Wilson.
That should not be a problem at North Tahoe High School, as final exams are scheduled during the last three days of the year, said Assistant Principal Stephanie Welsh.
Adjusting for snow days could create more pressure for the teachers during the spring testing season, because the standardized No Child Left Behind tests are scheduled on set days, Welsh said.
High school seniors are one group of students who have reason to cheer for snow days. Graduation is set for June 10 this year and that is not affected by the weather, according to school administrators.
“[I] go back to sleep then go skiing,” said North Tahoe Senior and office aid Dan Koenig, 17, of the day out of class.
In the past when he was not an upperclassman, he said he would be disappointed during the extra school hours in June.
“But, it was worth it,” he said referring to the fresh power he skied as a tradeoff.
Another reason seniors receive special consideration is college admission, according to Welsh. It is possible that a seniors’ chances of being accepted to a college in the fall could be harmed by late transcripts caused by an extended school year, she said. Students that are required to start sports training over the summer could be further affected, she added.
Employees on a 10-month contract get snow days off along with the students, while 12-month contracted employees are required to show up, Wilson said.
“I love the snow days,” said North Tahoe Art and Photography Teacher Peggy Heidelberger-Smith, an avid skier. “The kids know it, I’m out there with the best of them.”
Each additional snow day this year will push the school year back an extra day until June 20 —the latest possible last day of the 2007-2008 school year, wrote Wilson.
Snow days are not budgeted into the school year, Wilson said.
Snow Days
Tahoe Truckee Unified School District— 3 snow days. Last day of school— June 17.
For more information on snow days visit www.ttusd.org and click on the snowflake icon. |
