Childs Elementary School students stop to look at the snow in November 2019 before entering school, which started two hours later than normal due to a weather -related delay. Staff file photo by Emily Cox
Jerry Sanders, superintendent of the Richland-Bean Blossom Community School Corp., remembers the feeling of waking up and checking the news to see if school was canceled due to weather. He said he sees parents posts online, wondering if schools could have traditional snow days rather than e-learning, which he said he understands.
“But I have to believe that there's still plenty of time in the day to be able to get in our e-learning assignments and activities and still have time at the end of the day for the fun that the students, as well as adults, like to have in the winter on a snow day,” Sanders said.
Area school districts like R-BB have technology devices for every student and have learned more about how to have e-learning days due to the pandemic. While more snow might not be on the way for Monroe County soon, by the time the next winter arrives, snow days could or could not be a thing of the past. Sanders said snow days are still an option, but for R-BB, having e-learning days when there is inclement weather will be much more likely in the future.
Sanders said 2011-12 was the first year for all R-BB students to have devices, and prior to COVID-19, the district was already starting to work on a plan to use e-learning days in order to not use only snow days, he said. Then, COVID-19 hit and the district became more skilled at using e-learning long term, he said. E-learning often happens in the middle of a unit or series of lessons a teacher is covering in the classroom, Sanders said.
“With e-learning, we're able to continue that instruction rather than have a disruption in the flow of learning,” Sanders said. “So if there’s school on a Tuesday and e-learning is called on a Wednesday and then school is back on Thursday, then the teacher is able to provide some activities that are related to what is being taught in the classroom.”
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