With Districts Fully Integrated into Distance Learning, Will Michigan Schools Declare a Snow Day?

STRAIT – As Tuesday’s inclement weather approaches, a unique dilemma looms for parents and students.

We are talking about a snowy day. With districts fully integrated into distance learning, will districts declare a snowy day? As of Monday afternoon, that answer was still not clear.

There are a lot of things educators have to contend with in educating children during a pandemic.

This includes distance learning, face to face learning, blended learning, parents, teachers, students and now the snowy days issue.

Related: Metro Detroit school closures: See the list

“Can the children do it?” We just need a day to take a break, ”said Heidi Hedquist of the Pontiac School District.

In Michigan, it goes without saying that you are probably going to have snowy days. In fact, the state allows up to six days of snowfall when the weather makes it unsafe or unrealistic to take children to and from school.

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Through distance learning, we now know that children can be educated whether there is 30 inches of snow on the ground and counting or on a clear, cold, sunny day.

So why do we need snow days? This is an issue that educators have debated particularly with the measurable learning loss during the last 10 months of pandemic education.

Reyonna Orr has three children in the L’Anse Creuse school district.

“Snowy days are important. Everyone deserves a day off, ”Orr said, adding that the pandemic has been particularly stressful for students.

Her two sons are learning face to face and her daughter is in school four days a week for a blended learning model.

“We all need mental health when it snows… Give us a day off,” she said.

Weather forecast: 6 to 10 inches of snow tonight

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