ST. LOUIS – After days of sledding and snow days, it was back to math problems and instructional learning for some students Friday.
Holly Miller was at home on Friday with her son Ben, a 5th grader at Layfette and one of many students learning virtually across the state.
“The school makes it fun, and they add some socialization into it,” she said. “I like that they can have the e-learning option because they are able to use so many hours toward the end, so you’re not going late into the summer.”
Each school district’s calendar varies; some could have five snow days while others have six built into the school year.
“It depends on how long their day is. It just limits to a total of 36 hours within the school year,” Dr. Kari Monsees with the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education said.
The state requires 1,044 hours of instructional learning, according to Monsees. He said 36 hours of e-learning count as if students were in the classroom.
“Most districts will do everything they can to try to complete the school year in the time they have planned, and that is part of the reason why for the flexibility to have the alternative methods of instructions of virtual days,” Monsees added.
The good news is that there was little to no impact from weather during the first half of the year and Monsees asks parents to be flexible.
“The administration and the people who are making these choices—someone is going to be upset with them no matter what they do. They can’t win, and they want to keep everyone safe while still providing education for the kids,” Miller said.