Rogers Schools Seek Solutions to Snow Days

ROGERS -- Snow, ice and slick roads extended the school calendar for Rogers students this year.

Administrators requested a waiver from the state for the March 3 and 4 snow days, but want more flexibility through becoming a district of innovation.

At A Glance

School Of Innovation

A council of parents, teachers, staff and students can create alternatives to state standard teaching and administrative practices. The council can request waivers from state rules in the interest of improving learning for students, much like a charter school. School-level ideas will be vetted through the School Board and the Arkansas Department of Education for approval. A schools of innovation designation is granted for four years.

Source: Staff Report

Students in Rogers will make up 11 days of school by June 6 and the district is seeking waiver for two more days, Janie Darr, superintendent told School Board members Thursday night. Aadministrators don't know for sure what day school will let out until the state board meets March 20 and 21.

It's a scenario administrators would like to avoid.

State law narrows when schools can start. Test dates are set. Spring break isn't very flexible either.

Starting early would give teachers more time to prepare students, Darr said. Adding an extra hour of class time to six days would allow schools to make up a snow day, Darr said.

Both those suggestions will be put to teachers and parents as Rogers forms school of innovation councils.

The Arkansas Department of Education announced in February the process for districts that want to set up schools of innovation. The district of innovation would give schools flexibility to appeal state guidelines in the interest of learning. All schools must apply individually, Darr said.

A council is the first step to create a school of innovation. Councils of innovation must include teachers, staff and parents elected by their peers, the principal and at least two students. Schools must have a minority representative if the student body has more than 10 percent minority enrollment.

Councils can submit ideas to help students participate in school or make better paths to college or a career, according to the state. Ideas could be about changing school culture or how to help academically challenged students catch up to their classmates.

Rogers administrators plan to ask the councils to include a request to add hours to a school day to make up snow days. The extra hour could be a few minutes tacked onto each class or it could be an extension of a study hour. The leadership team at each school would be able to make those decisions, Darr said. That suggestion could change next year's calendar.

Administrators plan to ask if they can start school five days early beginning in 2015-16. Starting early better guarantees when school will be out, Darr said. All schools will have to agree to the change before it could go into place, she said.

"We can't run 22 different calendars and we can't have our schools make up inclement weather in 22 different ways," Darr said.

School councils can come up with other ideas, Darr said. Each school's council application must pass with a 60 percent vote by teachers and staff. The Rogers School Board will evaluate the ideas during the April board meeting, then send them to the state.

Making up school this year wasn't easy, administrators said. Days dedicated to teacher training and planning were made up in afternoon mini-meetings.

Spring break was off the table for make up days this year based on past input, Darr said. A 2014-15 calendar will be put to the board during their March 18 meeting.

Board members discussed draft versions of the 2014-15 calendar and debated the merits of planning snow days into that calendar's spring break.

Students need spring break, especially if there are no other days off between the first of the year and the end of school, said Sterling Wilson, a board member.

Taking a day or two from the start of that week could give students more days to study before set test days, said Curtis Clements, a board member.

"It's like practicing for the Super Bowl after it's already been played," Wilson said.

Darr said the final calendar could have up to 12 snow days and spring break would be a last resort.

Teachers prefer school makeup days on professional development days, at the end of the school year, Saturdays and spring break, in that order, said Roger Hill, assistant superintendent for human resources.

"This was a crazy year," Hill said.

NW News on 03/14/2014

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