School days are important for every student. State policies vary and dictate how much classroom instruction and time learning students receive. Instructional time usually reflects the state’s needs for its students. School districts close for reasons stemming from bad weather to various casualties. Thus, school districts are required to make up missed days.
Today, many states allow virtual learning during emergency school closings. However, many have a policy that limits the number of virtual days. Some states moved back toward traditional requirements of classroom make-up days built into the calendar. Make-up days matter because state laws require a certain number of instructional days or hours. This affects funding for schools, required testing schedules, and the completion of the school’s curriculum.
Virtual School Days
Many students and parents prefer remote or virtual learning when there is a school closure, while others do not. However, canceled classes require a school day to be made up. Because remote or virtual learning occurs during a cancellation, a percentage of students do not participate. They are either unable to connect to the Internet or simply don’t.
Introducing new content is difficult in remote learning. Therefore, teachers resort to a review of previous lessons, independent reading, or having students write a simple essay to find an answer to a math problem. This result is a day of lost peer-to-peer interaction.
Adding Days
School administrators debate how to add make-up days to the school year due to inclement weather.
- Many schools make up missed days by adding days to the end of the year. Extending the school year for make-up days may cost the district more money.
- Adding extra minutes to the school day is considered for missed days. This is popular in some districts with parents. However, it causes busing problems.
- Using holidays and spring break for make-up time is most popular with districts.
- Saturday classes are the most unpopular suggestion.
There are several possibilities for make-up days. Schools need to consider standardized testing dates and the Advanced Placement Test. Making up days at the end of the school year doesn’t cause a reset of the state testing schedule.
States are making decisions about the days on a case-by-case basis. Setting a school calendar for the upcoming year takes work. No matter how districts make up lost days, classroom learning for academics and social interactions is important for development. The amount of information students need to absorb in today’s world has increased. Many events that do not include academics take time out of the school day. Schools are expected to do more with the same amount of time as in the past years.
