I cried tears of joy as a kid for the rare snow day in my school district. They were few and far between, so I cherished those days off with an epic snowball fight or a marathon of Disney movies. As I grew up, snow days became the perfect excuse to write my 10 page research paper the next day. Now, I feel as if I should apologize for the kids, who will not be able to enjoy the splendor and carefree times of a snow day.
A school district in South Carolina has got rid of the beloved snow day and replaced it with online classwork. Last week, the Anderson County School District 5 announced via social media that the district was chosen to test an eLearning program in South Carolina. This means when the kids aren’t able to go to school, teachers will send the work to them.
According to WFSB, the district is the first to eliminate snow days in the state and replace them with online courses. Anderson School District 5 Superintendent Tom Wilson told The Washington Post that “It just makes good sense.” He explains that a small average of students actually attends makeups, so it makes no sense to run buses.
The district would announce the school was closed and to conduct an eLearning day just like any snow day. After concern from parents, the district also mentioned that the assignments wouldn’t require any internet access. Any students without power or with technology issues will have five additional days to complete the assignments. Students would be able to download assignments on their Chromebook ahead of time.
According to the Washington Post, the district is still figuring out how many children lack Internet or will have trouble accessing online assignments. The superintendent said that younger children may receive assignments that don’t require computers.
So far the response has been positive says the Wilson to the Washington Post, but he does expect more questions down the road.