Should Schools Consider Holding Remote School Days Perspectives to Alleviate Time Off for Snow Days? Comments From Facebook
Maine Education Association Many schools have already had three snow days this year. But even before the recent snow, officials in the combined Five Town Community School District and School Administration District 28 say they are testing a pilot program to replace two snow days with "remote school days." MEA posed the question about remote days as an option, as the idea is being monitored by the Maine DOE to keep school from extending too far into June. Below are the thoughts of educators and parents on the topic of remote school days, as posted on MEA’s Facebook page. Helen Moulton Onorato I’m a teacher, and I’m skeptical. Many of my students have no internet at home, or are tasked with shoveling snow or caring for siblings on a snow day. Some students split living between households; they would need two binders of work. What kind of authentic instruction could teachers create ahead of time for often surprising Maine weather? How would it be assessed? What about students with IEPs who need support from teachers during instruction? Like many other teachers, I have a young child at home who I need to engage on a snow day, and I also am the one who shovels. I can’t be remotely available to students all day. Sue Dow I am a teacher and would love it. Teaching or trying to teach in late June is often ineffective.
Heather Duquette For those of us who are not 1:1 in a poor community where not everyone has internet access, online assignments would not work. Binders of “snow day work” would be a better idea. Liz Young-Hoyt With 1:1 laptop deployment at our school, I’m all for it! A laptop cannot replace a teacher but with platforms that allow live time feedback and communication, it could work in a limited capacity Janice Palmieri Bigos I’m with Liz. There is always a solution for those who do not have internet access, after all, many lose power during storms. It could be worked out. Miranda Wakefield I think a certain number per year... maybe 3 or 4 would be very valuable. There would need to be a plan in place to support students who for any reason couldn’t do it at home to complete it at school but I doubt it would need to be implemented very often/at all. Michele Metzler Who would be in charge of making sure the work got done? What if parents still have to work all day—and older sib is staying home with younger? Can we expect daycare providers to deliver lessons on a snow day? What if teachers are expected to “be available” all day, but have young children to take care of and have to go shovel too? Lots of problems with this. December 2018 • www.maineea.org
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