NEW RIVER VALLEY, Va. – Local school systems are grappling with scheduling challenges after winter storms forced six consecutive days of in-person class cancellations across the New River Valley.
The disruptions, following two back-to-back weekends of severe winter weather, have left school administrators searching for solutions to make up for lost instructional time without disrupting previously planned breaks.
“Scheduling has been a bear, it’s been challenging,” said Rob Graham, Superintendent of Pulaski County Public Schools. “We just are hopeful that we can get our children back in on Wednesday.”
The weather-related closures have been particularly challenging as they follow previous disruptions from December. “The days we missed in December that wasn’t really in our plans,” said Adam Joyce, Superintendent of Radford City Public Schools. “You get to January, you’re already kind of behind the eight ball and then comes a terrible ice storm, and then right behind that a week later comes a traditional snowstorm.”
Remote Learning Provides Buffer
Schools implemented remote learning during the closures, which helped avoid using built-in makeup days and prevented immediate changes to the yearly calendar. However, administrators are considering calendar revisions for future academic years given the pattern of extended weather-related disruptions.
“We’ve had virtual learning which I think will help some too, but we’re ready to have them back in so we can catch up with what they’ve missed,” Graham said.
Planning for Future Disruptions
Joyce noted that while the calendar committee included snow days in their planning, recent experiences may prompt changes. “We will use this year and last year as sort of guides for the coming years because if we’re just as vulnerable as a wide-open county, then we have to make adjustments for that.”
The school systems still have options for makeup days, though administrators are reluctant to use them. “We are down to three days now, but there are days built in our calendar that we can use as makeup days,” Joyce explained. “We don’t want to mess up family’s schedules and things around spring break, but we also don’t want to go to the middle of June.”
Graham echoed these concerns: “We do not want the extra days in June and we don’t wanna change our holidays either because again, folks have made plans.”
Looking Ahead
If additional closures become necessary, Radford City Public Schools officials indicate that Presidents Day or an upcoming work-day would likely be converted to instructional days. Despite nearly two weeks of missed classes in the New River Valley, administrators say the situation remains manageable and far from critical.