Snow Days

As Mother Nature deals us what has been described as the snowiest winter New England has seen in more than 40 years, school districts throughout the region are left to figure out ways for students to make up the days missed because of snow. In Springfield, we build 5 snow days into our school calendar and as of today, we are two days beyond that safety net. In the past, we have simply tacked on the extra days to be made up at the end of the school year. This year, school districts – including ours – are looking at other alternatives, including using school vacation time or Saturdays to make up the days. As we consider all of our options, our top priority is coming up with a plan that allows students and teachers more time in the classroom for overall instruction as well as MCAS preparation. Speaking of MCAS, we have already asked state education officials to consider pushing back the MCAS dates this year so that our students can recoup classroom time lost by snow days in advance of the state test. So, as you see, Mother Nature has given us much to consider. We will keep students, parents and staff posted as soon as our course of action is determined.