CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – The excitement students feel when they see their school district’s name scroll across a “closed schools” news ticker, or the early morning message their parents receive announcing a snow day, will likely be a thing of the past.
The Clarksville-Montgomery County School System is transitioning to a flexible learning model that allows remote learning at any time during the school year.
While the change was forced by the COVID-19 pandemic, it has inadvertently led to the development of a system that will also keep students learning without disruptions during inclement weather or even multiple sick days.
Schools Director Millard House said during a Clarksville Conversations podcast that snow days may be a thing of the past.
In fact, the 13 days normally set aside for inclement weather will already be used by the first day of school on Aug. 31.
“I reached out to (Tennessee Education) Commissioner Penny Schwinn and (told) her we have these 13 stockpile days we get every year … and instead of using them for potential snow days or professional development, we want to put them on the front end of the school year to give us an additional 13 days before school starts,” House said. “That will allow us to continue to prepare, give ourselves time to see how things are materializing in terms of the safety and well-being of employees and the growth or dissemination of the virus.”
Snow days a ‘thing of the past’
House further explained the need for those snow days was eliminated due to remote learning.
“It’s funny because when we talk about snow days and inclement weather days, those are really things of the past, because we now have the ability to go remote, have the ability to have a large group enrolled in our virtual school,” House said. “We are able to use these stockpile days on the front end to prepare, and we feel good about it.”
Students enrolled in the CMCSS K-12 Virtual, now the largest school in the district, will be able to simply continue moving through the curriculum, and traditional school students can transfer to remote learning in case the school building is inaccessible due to a COVID-19 outbreak or inclement weather.
While whether to go virtual is the parent’s option, remote learning is a school system option when traditional, in-school learning isn’t possible. “Remote is our choice if we have a snow day or have to shut it down because cases continue to rise and it’s not a safe environment for our students and employees,” House said. “They are two different pieces. … Our hope is not to see major disruptions in our learning process. We are learning more every day and paying attention to the guidance of our health officials every step of the way.”
Going remote at any time
At any point during the academic year, CMCSS may need to switch the entire district, or individual schools, in or out of traditional and remote models. Parents and guardians should make preparations throughout the year in the event that school buildings are closed, according to the CMCSS Reopening Plan.
“That can open up that window to moving a child in and out of remote,” House said. “It’s not something that we’ve moved forward to indicate that we are doing, but it definitely opens that door for growth in the future.”
When it comes to sick days, the technology now available may provide resources for students with chronic or long-term illnesses as well.
“The interesting thing is this is not just for the immediate need of COVID-19. We feel like our virtual school will meet a need we’ve had for a long time,” House said. “There’s a group of students much like my split household, that one wants to be in traditional school and one wants to be in virtual school — we feel there’s going to be a want and need out there for virtual school for a long time. We don’t plan on doing this for a short time. We want to expand this and get better at this. … We are learning to make it better and make sure we have the right kind of support for families to be successful at it.”