CONNECTICUT, USA — Wednesday the State’s Board of Education sent out a memo adding more flexibility for towns and cities for the 2020-2021 school year. With the winter months at the forefront, snow days have come more in focus for school officials.
The superintendent has always made decisions on school delays, dismissals, and closures due to winter weather, but now there is another option, a remote learning day.
FOX61 spoke with Patrice McCarthy Deputy Director of Connecticut Association Of Board of Education, she explained how this might impact the school year.
“Now that we have developed the protocols for remote learning then we have the opportunity for students to have devices in their homes," said McCarthy. "The state Board of Education wanted to provide a little bit more flexibility to school districts to make a judgment as to whether rather than closing schools because of weather and having to make up that day later in the year. On a year where we already have so much uncertainty so for the sake of continuity of learning it could become a remote learning day if the circumstances of the district allow that to happen.”
The remote learning day would be in place of the cancellation on a case by case basis. "Obviously if there is a power outage those are things that the superintendent would be taken into account when they make the decision if it’s a remote learning is feasible that day."
McCarthy added, “Ideally when inclement weather is predicted they’ll be told to make sure that they bring home their remote learning devices so they have them and then they will be able to receive their assignments electronically just like the students who are currently in a hybrid model or in our learning from home.”
Several towns have announced that this option will be in place as an option instead of snow days. We’re told families and students would be notified the same way they’ve made snow day announcements through the scroll at the bottom of your television and on the district's website.