FEBRUARY 25, 2010 ISSUE
Hemric Clarifies School Closing Policies
Limited Bus Routes To Be Used More, Saturday School Guidelines Change
As of February 24, Watauga County Schools have been closed for 21 days this school year because of inclement weather. Earlier this week, Schools Supt. Dr. Marty Hemric took time to clarify system policies on closing and explain the reasoning behind new guidelines on Saturday school and limited bus routes.
All school systems in the state are required to have 180 days of instruction and make up any days that are missed. However, because of the quantity of days missed so far this winter, Watauga County Schools have prepared the paperwork to request a waiver from the state for some of the missed days.
For more information about limited bus routes, school closings and makeup days, call 828-264-7190 or click to www.wataugasd.schoolfusion.us.
Closing School
“It’s a very careful process that we go through,” Hemric said. “Our foremost priority is the safety of our students.”
The decision on whether to close school depends on the timing of storms, he said. If a storm arrives overnight, the process begins at 3:30 a.m., when a transportation team of 12 people travels to different districts in the county to monitor road conditions. They then report their findings to Transportation Supervisor Toni Weaver Floyd.
The transportation supervisor and superintendent also communicate with neighboring school districts to the south and west—the directions from which storms usually arrive in the High Country—to determine the severity of the storm and road conditions in those areas. Administrators check local and national weather resources, including Ray’s Weather, Accuweather and the National Weather Service, and contact the Department of Transportation, Sheriff’s Office, Highway Patrol and other organizations.
School leaders must collect this information and make a decision before buses begin their routes—which is typically two hours before school begins. If schools were to start on time at 7:45 a.m., a decision would have to be made in time for buses to start running at 5:45 a.m., Hemric noted. The decision for a three-hour delay would have to come before 8:45 a.m.
“Some of the calls are not easy to make,” he said.
By the time mid-day rolls around, the roads may have cleared, and drivers will ask, “Why aren’t the kids in school?” Hemric said. But school leaders must consider the conditions at the times when buses, parents, students and employees are driving to and from school, he explained.
If it is obvious schools will be closed the next day, administrators will make the decision the night before; if there’s the chance for a delay, they’ll wait until the morning. It’s rare that school leaders will make the decision to close before a system has even arrived, but that’s what happened with the December 18, 2009, snowstorm.
“With that projection, and the magnitude of the storm, I made that call,” Hemric said. “I do make the final decision and take responsibility for that. People will debate that, but that’s OK.”
Limited Bus Routes and Saturday School
On February 19, “Plan B” limited bus routes were enacted systemwide for the first time this school year. Under limited routes, buses travel to a limited number of stops on designated roads and highways. Bus riders whose stops are not on the limited routes can board at any of the designated stops. Students who cannot make it to a bus stop on limited route days are given an excused absence.
Plan B limited bus routes are not new but have not been used in recent years, a recent press release from the school system stated.
“The reason that Plan B is not used wholesale, at least early on in the year, is the detrimental effect it has on attendance,” Hemric said. Last Friday, Mabel was down to 87 percent in attendance, he noted.
But as the school system gets close to using up all of the calendar’s built-in makeup days, limited bus routes will be used more frequently, he said.
The school system recently announced revised guidelines for holding makeup days on Saturdays. Previously, schools would not open on Saturday if schools were closed on the preceding Friday. That’s because Saturday school operates on an early release schedule—12:00 p.m. for preK-8 schools and 1:00 p.m. for high school. If schools are closed on Friday, the assumption is that there would be a delay on Saturday—leaving little time for instruction, Hemric explained.
But under the new guidelines, school can be held on Saturdays following a closing on Friday. If school opening is delayed on Saturday, schools will dismiss at the regular weekday time instead of the early release time.
“It’s a product of the severity of where we are in the makeup process,” Hemric said.
Learning at Home?
Although schools are required to make up days missed because of weather, school closings can interrupt the learning process. Because of this, some teachers attempt to continue students’ learning on snow days by sending home “snow packs” of assignments for students to work on, Hemric said. Some teachers use the Internet to communicate with students.
But distance learning over the Web is limited by students’ access to computers and the Internet. The school system recently conducted a survey that found 87 percent of households had Internet access—but not all surveys were returned, Hemric said. He estimated that about 60 to 70 percent of students have Internet access.
“If we launch a platform for distance learning, then we must include every child,” he said.
Parents Express Frustration, Understanding
With students spending quite a bit of time at home this year, some parents have expressed frustration with school closing decisions.
“Parents ought to be responsible to get their kids to school,” said Wayne Caudill, who has a daughter in high school and lives in the Mabel School district. “They’ve got tire chains on every school bus. They can go to school.”
“If they’d open school up, I’d have my kid at school,” he added.
Caudill said that missing so many days could affect students on their exams.
Teresa Geer lives just outside of Boone and also has a child in high school.
“I just think [school leaders] have a hard decision to make,” she said, but added that so many missed days could hinder learning.
“I think it’s difficult for them to keep up with the work that they’re doing,” she said. “I think they’re catching up with their friends more than their schoolwork.”
Geer said she has heard some people say that class assignments over the Internet would be a good idea but that she is sure a lot of kids don’t have Internet access.
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