Sedalia 200’s Practical Considerations When Taking A Snow Day

It's no secret that our first snowfall in West Central Missouri has led to some frustrations, especially in Sedalia. The one-two punch of snow and cold has given Sedalia public works fits trying to clear the side streets. It's disrupted mail and package delivery. Not surprisingly, it's created some chatter and debate about snow days, leading Sedalia 200 Superintendent Dr. Todd Fraley to address the issue with a letter published on the Sedalia School District 200 app.

Dr. Fraley explained to parents and Sedalia residents what determines whether children will attend school and what he and district leadership must consider when unexpectedly canceling school.

First, it helps to understand how much time kids need to be in school according to Missouri law and how Alternative Methods of Instruction Days (AMI) also fit into this. Fraley explains Missouri law requires students to receive 1,044 hours of instruction during the school year. Most districts, including Sedalia 200, have more school instruction time built into their calendar. This year, Sedalia 200 students are in class for 1,088.25 hours. Fraley says the district could close school for 6.5 days and still meet the State's 1,044 mandated hours of instruction.

During the pandemic, Missouri approved a plan to let districts apply for up to 36 hours of AMI days. This gives the district five days to use AMI days for emergencies, including inclement weather.

AMI days, combined with the instructional hours above, give Sedalia 200 11.5 days this year, where schools could be closed without needing to make up any days at the end of the year. Additionally, Missouri law requires schools to have 36 hours of make-up instruction time in their school calendar, which most districts stack at the end of the year.

Right off the bat, district leadership has about two weeks between AMI days and snow days, where they don't need to make up any snow days at the end of the school year.

Fraley then went on to say with our first snowfall hitting at the end of Christmas break, AMI days really wouldn't have been practical to use because students had been out of school with no contact with their teachers since December 20 and high school students hadn't even started their second-semester courses making AMI days ineffective. Now that kids are back in school, taking AMI days is a more viable option.

Regarding AMI days, Fraley says using AMI days are better suited for when the district knows they will likely have to close school because of an impending storm that will most likely impact our area rather than coming out of a long break.

Additionally, Fraley points out that we've got a long winter ahead. The district also needs to consider ice storms that could hit as we transition towards spring, as well as the possibility, God forbid, that severe thunderstorms or a tornado hit the area and require Sedalia 200 to close schools.

Finally, Fraley said that sometimes the district will push forward with classes when it's cold or snowy despite Missouri not having some of the snow removal resources northern states have if the district believes it can do so safely. He didn't specifically address Sedalia 200's announcement that classes would be in session one night and then reverse that decision early the following morning. Still, I believe that's what he was alluding to.

The truth is that Sedalia 200, and any school district for that matter, will not please everyone when it closes schools or asks students to show up when it's snowy or cold.

Open the schools when it snows and a bus slides off the road; it's the wrong choice. Close schools in anticipation of a big storm, and you get an inch of snow that isn't an issue; it's the wrong choice. Then you have the parents who have no problem bundling their kids up in frigid weather and parents who don't want their kids out when it's bitterly cold.

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Just remember, these decisions aren't taken lightly. Additionally, at least when schools are planning to be open -- new information or unexpected events between the time a district decides to be open and the start of school can lead to a change of plans. And, really, as inconvenient as that may be for some of us, don't we want our school leadership to change their mind if that's the safest thing for the kids, bus drivers, teachers, and staff?

You can read Dr. Fraley's message here.