Some school districts in Maine are changing their snow day policies for this school year.
Scarborough will dedicate just two snow days and Portland just three. Both will transition to remote learning for subsequent storms. Augusta schools, however, will implement a flexible policy that prioritizes remote learning days over snow days.
Augusta Superintendent of Schools Michael Tracy is implementing a flexible policy in which he can call a remote learning day before a storm arrives.
“If me and my team are able to determine that tomorrow will be unsafe. If I can make that call by 1 o’clock, then the whole school system will pivot to a remote snow day the subsequent day,” he said.
Steve Bailey, executive director of the Maine School Management Association, said a district’s school board has the final say on these kinds of policy changes.
“Those plans must be agreed to by the board,” he said. “There is also a school lunch provision so you have to make sure students are fed, especially now with school lunches being free for students.”
Bailey said the state Department of Education does require that the provision of meals be met on remote learning days.
Tracy said shelf-stable lunches will be sent home with Augusta students. And if a student loses power, he or she has up to three days to make up the assignments, which are posted online.
Remote days, Tracy said, will prevent the extension of the school year past mid-June.
The state of Maine requires that all schools be in session for at least 175 days each school year.
This article appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.
