No snow day for you: These Kansas City area districts to have virtual school instead
While some Kansas City area school districts announced Tuesday that they would hold snow days on Wednesday, others will keep students at home but still require them to log in to virtual classes.
The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning, predicting up to a foot of snow.
Both the Lee’s Summit and Raymore-Peculiar school districts announced Tuesday afternoon that they would pivot to virtual learning on Wednesday. And Hickman Mills said it would hold classes online on both Wednesday and Thursday.
In contrast, Kansas City Public Schools, as well as the Independence, Platte County and Pleasant Hill districts, canceled school Wednesday and will have a traditional snow day.
More closure announcements were expected Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
Last year, districts provided all students with laptops or Chromebooks and mastered quickly pivoting to virtual classes during COVID-19 school closures. And some education officials predicted that traditional snow days might become a thing of the past.
But this school year, switching to online-only classes is more difficult after both Missouri and Kansas placed new restrictions on remote learning.
In Missouri, if a class or building must temporarily close, districts can submit a plan to the state, which could allow them up to 36 hours of alternative instruction, such as remote learning. Kansas allows 40 hours of remote learning per student.
Some area districts have already been using a few days off, built into the school calendar, for COVID-19 shutdowns. If districts exceed the number of days they are allowed to cancel school, it is possible some would need to extend the school year or find other ways to make up the lost hours.
In its announcement Tuesday, the Lee’s Summit district said that Wednesday will be the first day it will use some of those limited remote learning hours. And officials emphasized that the district’s last day of school has not changed.
Here’s an updated list of school closings:
This story was originally published February 1, 2022 at 5:59 PM.
