NEWS: Will Schools Use Remote Learning Should Schools Close?

The Advance asked local school leaders their policies on remote learning in the event schools are forced to close next week due to weather.

By Martin Davis
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
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Photo by Ivan Stepanov on Unsplash

Technology is adding a new wrinkle to snow days for students and their families. A decision to close school no longer is an instant invitation to grab the sled and head for the nearest hill.

With significant snow accumulation predicted for the weekend, the Advance asked local school leaders about their plans for potentially offering instruction in the event of extended closures.

Fredericksburg

Deputy Superintendent Matthew Eberhardt told the Advance that when schools are closed one of two codes will be announced:

• Code Red (school closed with no instruction)

• Code Blue (remote, at-home learning day)

“We need to consider if FCPS students are in a position to receive instruction and if staff can successfully engage in virtual teaching,” Eberhardt said. “Also, we need to consider if we can provide other obligations and supports under an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or 504 Plan as well as other student supports like counseling.”

A Code Blue is deployed when “conditions make in-person learning unsafe but we believe most students and staff can reasonably access learning from home.” School work on Code Blue days can be either computer-based or paper-based.

Among the factors that come into play are power outages, if any, and how extensive they are. The district wants to ensure that people can access what is “needed for both teaching and learning and related supports.” It’s also important, Eberhardt said, “that parents and students … have a way to contact teachers and staff.”

A Code Red is called when conditions are severe enough that safety concerns, power outages, or widespread connectivity issues would prevent us from delivering instruction equitably or effectively. In those cases, the division is fully closed.

Spotsylvania

When closures are announced, “Code 3” will signify to students, parents, and staff that learning will happen remotely.

Superintendent Clint Mitchell tells the Advance that remote learning could be synchronous and/or asynchronous.

“Students do not need power to complete … asynchronous work,” Mitchell said. “They only need power for the synchronous ‘office hours’ if they need help with an assignment from the classroom teachers. They do not have to log in if they have no questions.”

Teachers are “required to provide office hours for 1 hour in the AM and 1 hour in the PM,” Mitchell said. “Those times will be communicated to parents at the school level.”

Stafford

According to Chief of Communications Officer Sandra Osborn, if Stafford County Public Schools are closed to students, “there would be no asynchronous instruction. If we must make up days, we would designate March 13, March 20, and/or April 6 as instructional days for students as noted in our school calendar.”

Should there be any changes to the district’s operating status, Osborn said, those will be “updated through our regular communication channels - phone, email, text, website, and social media.”

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