by Mike Knaak
news@thenewsleaders.com
Even snow days are getting a new look in the time of Covid-19.
With some students learning at least part time from home and others in schools, how to handle the traditional Minnesota routine of calling off school for extreme winter weather needed an update, the Sartell-St. Stephen school board decided at its Oct. 19 meeting.
Administrators now have three options when winter weather strikes.
Scenario 1: If all students are in a hybrid or in-person model, they will all get a snow day.
Scenario 2: If all students are in distance learning when a storm hits, there will be no snow day.
Scenario 3: If grades pre-kindergarten through grade five are in an in-person or hybrid plan, there will be a snow date that will need to be made up at the end of year. If grades six through 12 are in distance learning, there will be no snow day called.
“If everybody is already home doing distance learning we don’t call a snow day, we just keep going” said Superintendent Jeff Schwiebert.
The district will also end the long-standing practice of calling off school in coordination with the Sauk Rapids and St. Cloud districts. Because each district might be in a different learning mode, each district will makes its own call and announcement instead of one decision for all three districts.