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When a snowstorm pummeled Indiana in early February, local schools shut their doors, but most Johnson County students still had to complete assignments.
A decade ago, a blizzard or winter storm would signal an automatic day off for students, who could spend the day sledding or having snowball fights without anything on their to-do lists. But during the past five years, true snow days have all but become a thing of the past.
During the most recent winter storm two weeks ago, five of the county’s six public school districts closed, but participated in eLearning, a format that’s gained steam in recent years as schools had to shift to online learning during the pandemic. Now, students can learn from anywhere, and teachers can teach from anywhere.
During the pandemic, students had to be online at certain times, as teachers would hold classes over Zoom. But eLearning on snow days is asynchronous, meaning students are required to complete assignments, but don’t have to be online at a certain time, said David Clendening, Franklin schools superintendent.
“Teachers are available, but kids don’t have to be in class at the same moment in time,” Clendening said. “While teachers are setting up videoconferencing, kids can go outside and play. It doesn’t have to be done during normal class time. You can do nine to 10 at night if that’s what you want to do. You can still experience the fun and excitement of snow days.”
The district started eLearning during inclement weather about five years ago, and the strategy has helped maintain continuous learning rather than having unplanned interruptions to the school calendar, he said.
“When we were doing snow days, we always tacked them on to the end of the calendar,” Clendening said. “It wasn’t the same learning opportunity that happened when a snow day hit. With eLearning, we still do school that day. Kids turn in work and keep pace with the normal learning cycle.”
A study published in Education Next, a research journal, found students who had school days frequently canceled due to snow in the days before eLearning existed were 1 to 2% less proficient in testing than when the winter produced few or no snow days.
Center Grove schools took a different approach during the recent storm. It was the only district in the county that didn’t implement eLearning, instead using waiver days that don’t need to be made up. Any other snow days this school year will trigger eLearning, school officials said.
Unlike other local districts, Center Grove’s first official eLearning day was not on a snow day, but two years ago, when schools were pushed online due to the pandemic, connected learning coordinator Katie Brennan said.
Some individual schools in the district had been practicing eLearning with students before then, however, as early as the 2018-19 school year, Brennan said.
“Teachers post their daily lessons online for students to access remotely (and) eLearning days are counted as traditional school days, therefore there is no make-up day needed,” Brennan said.
Indian Creek schools was among the first districts in the county to implement eLearning during wintry weather, first utilizing it seven years ago, superintendent Tim Edsell said.
As with Franklin schools, eLearning on snow days at Indian Creek schools is asynchronous, meaning students don’t have to be online at any specific part of the day, and can schedule their day however they want, he said.
“It is an option that allows us to keep our school calendar intact so we don’t add school days during breaks or during the school year. Prior to eLearning, that’s what we would have done,” Edsell said. “It would create a lot of complaints with concern about how bad the weather was that winter and how long to add to the school year, which could impact graduation and other breaks. The benefit of eLearning (is) it keeps the calendar intact and provides some semblance of continuity for learning so progress is maintained.”
