Schools return in person after weather disruptions

GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — Many school districts in North Carolina are back in person after disruptions due to back-to-back winter storms.

Schools took different approaches, however all of them used remote learning days at one point or another. 

Gaston County Schools, for example, had two snow days and four remote learning days in the past two weeks due to the ice storm and snowstorm. 

Forestview High School English and AP psychology teacher Richard Morris, who is Gaston County Schools’ new teacher of the year, welcomed students back in person Thursday after a two-hour delay. 

He asked students briefly about whether they enjoyed the snow before discussing the remote learning packet students were expected to complete.

“Before they left, I wanted to be sure they understood exactly what the text was going to be about and the expectations I had for them while they were out,” Morris said. 

He said the secondary English curriculum coordinator sent packets for students in order for them not to fall behind and continue being engaged while out of school. 

Morris has been trying to make the most of the school closures. 

“I love being in the classroom with students, but we live on this earth where weather happens, and it can be a disruption. It’s a little frustrating, but it’s the reality of the situation. I was very responsive to both parents and students on email, making sure that everyone is on the same page,” Morris said. 

Forestview science and biology teacher John Ramos, who is the district’s teacher of the year, said his concern is the continuation of learning.  

“I don’t want to experience another learning loss like what we had in COVID back then. And, I’m just glad that, you know, we are very proactive as a school district and our administrators are really sending information in advance,” Ramos said. 

Mountain Island Charter School, which is also located in Gaston County, is a public charter school and also relied on remote learning. The school didn’t use any snow days but instead opted for using its five allotted remote learning days.

Mountain Island Charter School sixth to 12th grade principal Jacob Wilson said the school serves students from eight counties and any closure decisions come after analyzing a variety of factors. This includes looking into the decisions made by traditional public schools, monitoring weather and road conditions and assessing areas around the campus. 

“Student safety is always going to be No. 1 but beyond that, we want to make sure that our students are continuing learning and so we’re always going to want to push that ball forward. Anytime we have a chance to make it to where students can learn, we’re going to do that.” Wilson said. 

Assistant Principal of Curriculum Instruction Renee Goodwin said she was in contact with teachers during remote learning to receive feedback.

“I talked to them over the phone and asked them how things are going, where we should go when we get back, because we are in the middle of like testing season as well. So we had to make some adjustments for students to make sure that we get the best results for the testing,” Goodwin said. 

Students at Mountain Island Charter used an online platform with instructional activities to review concepts and independent learning. 

“Nothing replaces a teacher in the classroom, however the extension activities that our teachers provide here actually go beyond what the teacher is teaching through multiple platforms that we have,” Goodwin said.

Back at Forestview, Morris and Ramos are getting students back in the swing of things.

“Our main goal is to ensure that the routine will be in place again,” Ramos said. 

The intent behind it is to move forward. 

“We’re going to briefly go over the packet, make sure that everything’s complete so they get that attendance for the day, get that classwork grade for the day, but then we’re just going to keep on rolling like we never missed a beat,” Morris said. 

Both Gaston County Schools and Mountain Island Charter school officials said the weather-related closures will not prompt any makeup days or any schedule changes.

Meanwhile, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is modifying its calendar turning Feb. 11 and April 29 from early release days into full instructional days. 

“By supporting the superintendent’s recommendation to convert the remaining early release days to full instructional days, we’re choosing to exceed state requirements because it’s what best serves students,” CMS Board of Education Chair Stephanie Sneed said. 

Under state law, schools are only allowed to declare five remote learning days in a calendar year for emergency situations and severe weather.

However, according to the Department of Public Instruction, some schools have a waiver because they have been closed at least eight days during any four of the last 10 years due to weather.

This year, schools with a waiver include Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Haywood, Jackson, Madison, Mitchell, Swain, Watauga and Yancey counties. These schools are allowed to open a week early to have more makeup days and can use 15 remote instruction days or 90 hours. 

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