Storms shake up Fairfax school schedule
With 10 days missed, teachers and students must play catch-up
The snow days may be over, but teachers and Fairfax County Public Schools officials say the effects will have a longer impact.
So far this year, Fairfax County Public Schools have been closed 10 days due to inclement weather.
"This has definitely impacted my lesson plans. The [Advanced Placement] exams in May do not get moved because of snow days," said Ann Lam Wong, an AP Biology teacher at West Springfield High School. "Since the state [Standards of Learning tests] and national AP exams have set dates for their administration, I will have to condense some of the units in order to cover enough material before those tests. There will be less review time for the SOLs since I will now use all class time for covering material for the first time."
Like many of her students, Wong said she enjoys a good "snowcation" now and then. But the cabin fever was getting to her.
"I think the students will be anxious to come back to school, but that may be due to boredom," she said, adding that in her 16 years as a Fairfax County teacher, she cannot remember a storm wreaking more havoc to her teaching calendar.
Keiko Lear, a teacher at Fox Mill Elementary School, said she thinks the students will make the transition back to school pretty smoothly.
"I don't think my students will be rowdy. They will be so happy to see their friends and anxious to be back to normal," said Lear, who teaches second-grade math. "My lesson is an entire week behind. But we can't skip the lessons we need to cover. It will be challenging for teachers and students."
To keep lessons flowing through the days off, many teachers turned to e-mail and the school system's online Blackboard program.
"I heard from a co-worker that when they had a big snowstorm in 1993, students had to stay an extra hour every day to make up [lost class time]," Lear said. "She said it was so awful to see little kids like kindergartners and first-graders staying longer hours."
Adding on to the school day is something the county School Board may consider during today's meeting, said schools spokesman Paul Regnier.
"It's a possibility to tack on additional time to the school day," he said. "Virginia law allows us -- after the fourth day -- to only make up every other [snow] day."
Teachers were ready to get back to school Monday. But the make-up day, which coincided with Presidents Day, was canceled because of icy road conditions and snow-covered sidewalks.
Three snow days built into the school's calendar were used by January cancellations. The Presidents Day snow cancellation will not be made up, Regnier said. April 12, June 23 and 24 are currently set up as make-up days, with three days not being made up.
The expense to remove snow is another concern for Fairfax County Public Schools.
"We're way over budget," said Regnier, but he said he did not yet know the storms' full fiscal impact.
The school system is currently deciding funding cuts, facing a near $200 million shortfall from its $2.3 billion budget for 2010-11.



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