With the winter weather in full swing, an often frustrating side effect that comes with it is an abundance of snow days. While students may like the occasional day off, the canceled classes often cause a headache for school districts as they struggle to rearrange schedules to meet state requirements and may find the school year dragging on well into June. To help combat that issue, the Clarion-Goldfield-Dows School District has approved measures to implement “E-Learning Days” for up to three days this school year. This will allow students to engage in instruction from home on snow days.
With nine snow days on the books last school year, the district is hopeful that E-Learning days will help lessen the hassle of snow days this year. Superintendent Dr. Bob Olson explained how this process will work. When a snow day looks eminent, the district office will notify the students and families that an E-learning day will occur. Dr. Olson said, “It is our hope that E-learning days will be communicated the day prior to predicted inclement weather.”
Then, to prepare for the day, the teachers will contact students with the plan for their class. The plans for instruction will be different depending on the grade of the student, since all students, from Prep-Kindergarten to 12th grade will participate. For the middle school and high school, students will download activities and assignments on their iPads or laptops, which they will then take home. Middle school principal Steve Haberman says, for his students, E-learning day assignments could range from anything such as online quizzes to responding to instructor questions to watching a video.
Elementary principal Tricia Rosendahl explained elementary students will have packets that include Blizzard Bingo cards, pencils and crayons. The students will try to get “bingos” by completing activities in different columns represented by subjects like reading and math. Dr. Olson said the ultimate goal will be 20-30 minutes of meaningful learning per class regardless of the grade of the student.
The principals are hopeful that with the advance planning, the E-learning days will run smoothly and be productive. Haberman says, “So much of our curriculum is already online and can be accessed through iPads. The access is already there, and learning doesn’t always have to take place in a classroom.” Both Haberman and Dr. Olson also emphasized students will be supported during these days by teachers. Teachers will be required to be available online and through email from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. to assist students and parents during these days.
Though most students in the district do have internet access, lack of it will not necessarily hinder students. Olson pointed out that middle and high school students will have downloaded all their work on their devices before leaving school the previous day and elementary students will have paper packets. Students also will have the next day they get back to school before they have to turn in assignments should they need to reconnect with their teacher.
All administrators from the principals to the superintendent hope the E-learning days will be valuable not just as busy work but as useful instruction. Haberman says the goal is for the at-home work “to cover the same content as we would in class. It will hopefully be a seamless continuation of what they were already doing.”
Though no E-learning days have taken place yet, the school board has approved for the district to use up to three of these days. Dr. Olson said that these three days cannot count toward the state required number of student hours for the year, but they count towards teachers’ contract hours. This means that the E-learning days would lessen the number of days teachers would be required to come back for workshop days at the end of the year. Haberman also points out that it is better for everyone, students and teachers, to engage in learning now rather than June. “We are more productive now than we will be in June. We are in the primetime now for delivering education,” Haberman states.
While new to the C-G-D school district, the idea of E-Learning days did not originate here. Dr. Olson explains that other districts in the state, including Forest City, have used this tool in the past with good success. He asserted that other districts who have used them have reported over 90% of parents, students, and teachers find E-learning days valuable. He adds that for C-G-D, the three days will be a test. They will judge how successful E-learning is in the spring. “We will be asking about it at spring conferences. We want to know what people think. We want parents to see these days as valuable,” Olson stresses.
At present, all groups, from teachers to students are hopeful about what the E-learning days will offer. Rosendahl and Haberman both said their teachers are embracing the idea and preparing for the first E-learning day.
Students are also eager to see what they’re like. Rosendahl related a quote one of her elementary teachers heard from a student while preparing Blizzard Bingo cards. The student excitedly said, “I can’t wait for an E-Learning day. This looks so fun! I get so bored when I am home on snow days. This will give me something to do!” Rosendahl concludes, “This is just one of the reasons why we are embracing the possibilities.”
