Will Stoughton Get Snow Days This Year?

STOUGHTON, MA — During a normal year, news of a snowstorm heading for Stoughton would bring the prospect that school could be canceled. But with online learning amid the coronavirus pandemic, that prospect has dimmed somewhat.

This year, the state is allowing school districts to pivot to virtual learning instead of canceling in-person class amid winter weather. Superintendent John Marcus said such a shift to online school will be Stoughton's game plan should weather conditions be too unfavorable to ask students and their parents to make the drive to schools.

This plan could be put in place if Thursday's storm is bad enough to close schools, Marcus said.

"If the storm is bad enough to close buildings, we are hoping to have Thursday as a remote learning day, where all students will have both synchronous and asynchronous learning opportunities through the day," Marcus said. "However, it will be dependent on power outages in and around the Stoughton area. "

Marcus said those power outages could force a traditional snow day if they affect the ability for teachers and students to communicate with each other. The state modified this school year to a required 170 days instead of the typical 180 because of the pandemic, so missed days do not need to be added to the calendar in June.

Marcus said any changes to the school calendar will be announced through the district's communication system, social media accounts and traditional media sources.