Add one more tradition to the toll taken by the coronavirus pandemic.
Snow days — beloved by children (especially those facing math tests) and dreaded by parents — will be a thing of the past this winter in North Attleboro.
Now that many area schools are operating on a hybrid schedule and have shown they can handle online learning, there’s not much reason to call off school for everyone because of inclement weather only to have to make it up at the end of the year, school officials have decided.
North Attleboro Superintendent Scott Holcomb told the school committee — itself meeting virtually last week — that “if road conditions are too dangerous” for anyone to drive this winter, it won’t be a snow day, but “a remote learning day” for all.
Students scheduled to attend class on a particular day would instead take part in classes online.
The exception would be if the stormy weather causes widespread power failures in town, cutting off communications, Holcomb said.
In that case, all classes would be called off and the day would have to be made up at the end of the year.
The superintendent noted the state education department recently released guidelines on snow days, essentially leaving the decision up to individual districts for this year.
Holcomb said school administrators were divided on the decision. “You are in that Catch-22 situation. You want to be in a win-win, but these times don’t allow for that,” he said.
Nevertheless, the decision won support from members of the school committee. “For our purposes, it is probably a good way to go,” member John Costello said.
In Seekonk, Superintendent Rich Drolet has announced local schools will also close and have remote learning in the event of inclement weather conditions that result in dangerous and unsafe travel conditions this school year.
Such days will mimic the current Monday remote learning schedule.
Again, unless there is a widespread power failure in town, the steps will prevent schools from having to make up snow days at the end of the school year, Drolet noted.
Schools in the King Philip Regional District, as well as schools in the individual towns of the district, Wrentham, Norfolk and Plainville, will decide on a case-by-case basis whether snow days will be called as remote learning days, school officials say.
