COLUMBUS, Ohio – The deep freeze forced central Ohio schools to close again today, but school officials have a new tool to help keep students make up the missed work while not lengthening the school year.
Temperatures around central Ohio will remain cold today, but it’s the start of a slow and steady warmup. The National Weather Service says wind chills were as low as 20 below zero early this morning but highs will climb into the teens, and will rise daily until reaching the 30s this weekend.
Officials in Columbus canceled classes at the state’s largest school district, as did officials in the city’s Catholic schools and most suburban districts.
Increasingly, districts are making use of “blizzard bags,” recently approved by the state.
“Blizzard bags” are sets of lessons created by teachers to use if districts exceed their five calamity days. Assignments are posted online and students have ten days to complete them for class credit.
One of the districts to begin using the “blizzard bags” is Hilliard, where the school board approved a resolution in support of the tool this week, even as icy temperatures tightened their grip on central Ohio, superintendent John Marschhausen, Ph.D., said.
Marschausen says the district will only turn to the “blizzard bags” if it has to use more than its five allotted calamity days, which it did on Wednesday. The “blizzard bags” can be used for three more calamity days, but if the district needs to use nine or more, Marschausen says the school year will be extended into June.
Gov. Kasich and state lawmakers have called for school districts in the state to be granted four more calamity days for this school year.
Marschausen says students without Internet access at home get paper assignments when they return to classes and have the same two-week period in which to return the work,. Not only does this allow for a more continuous flow to the educational process, it also satisfies Ohio Revised Code requirements for school-time credit for up to three calamity days.
In Hilliard, the lessons are posted on an electronic communication channel on the morning of the calamity day and can be shared via websites, eCampus, Google Apps for Education, social media feed, email distribution list or other options, Marschausen said.