UPDATE to “Say It Ain’t Snow” – March 5, 2010 – Print Edition (Original Article Below)
After Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) missed nine days of school due to severe snow storms in December and February, the school system was going to have to add five days to the end of the school year if the state did not excuse the additional snow days. In response to the effects of the February blizzards, the Maryland State Department of Education announced that individual school systems could request to have five days waived from the required 180 days of instruction. MCPS announced yesterday that Maryland State Superintendent Nancy Grasmick honored MCPS’s request to waive five days of school.
“[Grasmick] has granted a five-day waiver to Montgomery County Public Schools, meaning the district will not have to make up the snow days that resulted from back-to-back blizzards in February,” announced MCPS in an e-mail message via its subscription service, QuickNotes. “If there are no more emergency school cancellations this school year, the calendar will not be adjusted and classes will end, as scheduled, on June 16, 2010.”
Original Article:
Say It Ain’t Snow
WRITTEN BY ABBY SINGLEY & JENNY DEUTSCH
While the snow on the ground is starting to melt and the D.C. area is beginning to recover from its biggest snow storm since 1898, one question is on many students’ minds: will the snow days be waived, or will the school year be extended?
The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) announced on Feb. 22 that individual school systems will be able to request to have five additional snow days waived because, according to State Superintendent Nancy Grasmick, “the severe weather conditions this year have been unprecedented, and the State Board believes that some flexibility must be granted.” Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Director of Public Information Dana Tofig said MCPS is waiting to hear if their request for a five-day waiver has been met. If Grasmick, who must authorize all waivers, approves MCPS’s request, the school year should not be extended.
Due to “Snowmageddon 2009,” “Snowpocalypse 2010” and a snow shower in the beginning of February, MCPS has had nine snow days thus far. In accordance with Maryland law, which requires schools to be open for a minimum of 180 instructional days, MCPS schedules 184 days of school to have four extra days of contingency. These four extra days in the 180-day requirement allow there to be up to four school days cancelled with no effects on the school calendar. Generally, when there are more than four snow days, the school year is extended to meet the required 180 days of instruction. However, if the February snow days are excused, the law necessitating 180 days of school will not apply.
Officials have not only been concerned about the effect of the snow days on the length of the school year; many national and state tests fall toward the end of the year, including High School Assessments (HSA) and Advanced Placement (AP) exams. Despite the amount of school missed, College Board, who administers AP Exams, will not change the date of the tests.
“AP Exams are scheduled to occur across the first two weeks in May, and we cannot change the AP testing window after the schedule has been set and released,” said AP Program Executive Director Susan Landers. “We do work with individual school officials who are unable to provide exams during the main testing window when make-up exams are needed.”
Some students are displeased by the fact that the various assessments are not changing.
“It’s an unnecessary push from the administration,” said junior Oktai Akhverdiev.
Despite the recent confusion and lack of information over test dates and the effects of the snow days on the school calendar, most students aren’t complaining about getting a week off from school – what many called “Winter Break: Part Two.”
However, while the five days off from Feb. 8-12 were, for the most part, a relaxing, work-free period for students, for some MCPS workers, making the declaration to cancel school called for copious amounts of work.
Several MCPS personnel are involved in deciding whether it is necessary to delay, dismiss early or cancel school because of weather conditions. Workers from the Transportation and Facilities Department monitor the conditions of the roads and school buildings throughout the county during and after storms. Meanwhile, MCPS officials check road conditions in surrounding counties because many employees are coming from outside of Montgomery County. Officials also use general media outlets as a source for weather information and forecasts to help them in making their final decision.
“The main factor is the safety of the students and staff,” said Tofig.
Depending on the situation, different measures are needed to make the decision to have a cancellation, early-release or delayed-opening.
“Sometimes it’s a fairly simple call as it was with the February blizzards – the roads were impassible and no one could get to the schools,” said Tofig. “However, other days, it’s not as clear cut and requires a little more time.”
