Snow days will become cyber days for some students

WILMINGTON, Del. — As Delaware watches other states dig out from huge piles of snow, parents and educators are remembering last year's hard winter and hoping the white stuff doesn't cancel as many school days this year.

In case it does, some private schools have set up a system for students to work from home in inclement weather, staying warm and safe without losing days.

"I think this is a way for us to keep kids on track academically while also allowing us to make the safest decision for our students," said Cindy Mann, school leader of Padua Academy in Wilmington.

Here's how the system will work at Padua: If the Diocese of Wilmington cancels classes, teachers would send emails to students by 9 a.m. with information about the assignments they would expect students to complete that day. Students would then do the work and submit it electronically.

Teachers would keep electronic "office hours" — the school is recommending from 1 to 3 p.m. — during which students can ask questions and seek help with their work.

The idea came about when individual teachers started preparing students to work from home last year as the snow days piled up.

"We just can't let students miss as much time as they did last year," Mann said. "We had to have Saturday classes to catch up. When a student has an (Advanced Placement) exam or something like that, it's a real problem if they miss that much time."

Every student at Padua has a laptop computer for use in class.

"They work this way in class all the time, so it's not like this is something foreign for them," Mann said.

Creating a system like Padua's would be a major hurdle for many districts because they do not have laptops for every student and some students might not have the Internet or computers at home.

Even so, many parents say they'd like to see such a program implemented in their schools.

"If our school district offered schoolwork online in the event of inclement weather, I would love it," said Samantha Welch, an Indian River School District parent from Georgetown. "I think it would make it so much easier to stay on track and not get terribly behind in class and homework."

Kay Glass, a mom in the Cape Henlopen School District, said she'd be "thrilled" to have such an opportunity.

"Frankly, I'd love the work to be available online, period, for when students are home sick, so there isn't a ton of makeup work to submit," she said. "It also allows parents to be more involved with the students' work."