OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — The Shawnee Mission School District is one of the districts in the Kansas City area preparing for winter weather this week while also working to make the best use of the snow days they have left.
It’s one of the dozen districts that are not having in-person learning Wednesday.
"We have to ask ourselves two questions: can we get our students and staff to school safely, and can we get them home safely," said David Smith, chief communications officer for the Shawnee Mission School District.
Snow plus ice is a common equation this time of year.
“At this point, we have room to maneuver," Smith said. "If we need to use a snow day, we will."
January’s blizzard plus this week’s storm subtracted five snow days from the district, and now there's three left.
Since the pandemic, virtual learning hasn't been an option for getting credit in Kansas Schools.
The state of Kansas can forgive four snow days, and there's another variable unique to Kansas schools.
"In Kansas, it's done in minutes rather than days, so it is possible to extend the day or look at extending the calendar," Smith said.
Smith says finding solutions once snow days are gone is difficult.
"Extending the calendar creates challenges for families, extending the day creates challenges for families, so we're hopeful we won't have to go in either of those directions," Smith said.
There’s nothing concrete yet, except the ground the district's crews are pre-treating.
"We take care of all of our own clearing, so we’ve got folks out now pre-treating our sidewalks, our parking lots, to try to make sure that we don’t run into an ice event," Smith said. "The other challenge we had last time was simply the volume of snow because we can push six inches of snow pretty easily. With the vehicles we have, when you get up to 10 inches of snow, that’s a bigger challenge for us, and it takes longer for us to clear it."
The more snow there is, the less likely it is feet will hit the pavement this week.
One thing Smith can guarantee: the learning will add up.
"Because we are required to have a certain number of minutes for the year, you don't have to be concerned about losing those minutes," Smith said. "We will have to have that time."
The district says it took plenty of notes after January's storm, but there’s other data left to collect.
“[We] want input from families, we would want input from our teachers union, and then just trying to figure out logistically what makes the most sense,” Smith said.
Smith says this month’s response should mirror last month’s and that whether it’s in a classroom or at home, a snow day can yield the same outcome.
“This doesn't have to be a day that learning doesn't occur,” Smith said.
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