Snow Days Might Soon Be A Thing Of The Past Because Of Online Learning

PLAINFIELD, IL — The COVID-19 pandemic popularized online learning for all grade levels, and as a result, it's changing the way some districts are planning the school years. In Plainfield District 202, e-learning may soon replace snow days, officials said at Tuesday's Board of Education meeting.

The plan doesn't have to be used, but it was approved by the Regional Office of Education should the district choose to implement it, officials said at the meeting.

Officials outlined the district's "E-Learning Day" plan Tuesday night, which can be used in place of emergency or bad weather that in the past gave students an unplanned day off from school. Under the e-learning plan, students would learn both synchronously, meaning teacher-led, and asynchronously — where students would work on their own time at their own pace — through Google Classroom.

Each situation would be dependent on the circumstances, officials said. A total of five days are available each year for remote learning due to an emergency. With e-learning, the district will no longer have to make up emergency days at the end of the school year to meet state attendance requirements.

"In this computer and Internet-driven age, there is no reason why we can’t continue instruction at home when schools have to be closed," Associate Superintendent Glenn Wood said in a statement.

On a remote learning day, students in different grade levels would log into Google Classroom at their starting times and work on a compressed schedule to help families due to the emergency situation, officials said at the meeting.

A glimpse at their e-learning schedule is below, as outlined in a district PowerPoint.

• Elementary schedule:
  • Synchronous from 9:05 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
  • Lunch from 12:45 p.m. to 1:15 p.m.
  • Asynchronous from 1:15 p.m. to 2:35 p.m.
• Middle school schedule:
  • Synchronous from 7:55 a.m. to noon
  • Lunch within the daily schedule
  • Asynchronous from 12:30 p.m. to 1:25 p.m.
• High school schedule:
• Synchronous from 7:05 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.
• Lunch within the daily schedule
• Asynchronous from 11:45 a.m. to 12:35 p.m.

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