Is COVID the end of snow days? Some southwest IL schools want to keep remote option open

In a typical school year, a 9-inch snowfall and dangerous wind chills — both of which slammed the St. Louis region Monday — would be a surefire combination to give metro-east students a day or two off of school.

Instead, many area students logged into their virtual computers, the same way they have for much of the last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

At some districts, superintendents would like to continue to use remote learning days to replace snow days even after the pandemic is over. But it would require further action by state legislators. The kind of executive orders that allow remote and hybrid learning days during the pandemic are allowed only when the governor declares a state-wide disaster.

The Illinois State Board of Education did not respond to a request asking if there were plans to amend the rules for remote learning in the future.

“Our position is we’re going to try to use remote learning and e-learning into the future,” said Brad Skertich, superintendent of Collinsville Community Unit School District 10.

One of the main reasons Skertich gave was to have better continuity of instruction: It’s one thing for inclement weather to cancel one day of school, but it’s quite another if three or four days need to be canceled.

The school calendar for Collinsville still includes extra emergency days in case a power outage or connectivity issues keep students from logging on remotely. While winter storms this week caused massive power outages in parts of the country, the snow and bitter cold didn’t affect most people’s power in the metro-east for more than a few hours.

There hasn’t been much good news out of the pandemic, but Skertich said teacher innovation around remote learning has been one silver lining.

“Our teachers have found those opportunities, and we want to utilize those in the future,” he said.

Granite City Community Unit School District 9 Superintendent Stephanie Cann agrees.

“We need to look at (remote learning) before we let it all slip away,” she said. “ … We need in-person, and we need face-to face learning, but as an additional tool, I think it’s exceptional. It can’t replace in-person learning, but it can enhance it.”

Cann believes remote learning can open new opportunities for students in the future, whether they’re home bound, in the hospital or looking to recover missed credits.

Not all metro-east school districts had remote learning days because of the weather.

O’Fallon District 90, Mascoutah School District 19 and Sparta Community Unit School District 140 are among those districts that gave their students and staff traditional snow days this week.

Districts that don’t have a technological device — such as a Chromebook — for every student were more likely to have a traditional snow day. Carrie Hruby, superintendent of O’Fallon District 90, said a remote learning day is only realistic for her district if there’s ample time and certainty with a weather forecast, so staff can send remote lesson materials home with students the day before.

In a school year so decidedly not normal, Hruby said the spirit of a snow day — a surprise break for both staff and students — could hopefully bring a sense of normalcy and some joy during a challenging time.

This story was originally published February 20, 2021 at 5:00 AM.