Schools had to adapt quickly during the pandemic. They went online and held class over Zoom and other online platforms. Kids are back in school now, but questions about using Zoom for snow days still linger, said Cache County School District assistant superintendent over secondary education Tim Smith.
“Basically, there is a, just an expectation out there, I think, that since we were able to go online during COVID, that during a snow day now that we could, we can flip a switch and go completely online,” Smith said.
But hopping on Zoom for a day isn’t easy, and isn’t always beneficial, said director of secondary teaching and learning Brittany Foster.
“We come up with some inequities where we may have students who go home or at home and they, they get the work done,” Foster said. “And then we have other kids who are like, well, I'm taking a snow day.”
Online school creates problems for teachers who don’t always upload their lessons online and who might be forced to reteach anyway when school resumes after a snow day. For teachers like Laura Chamberlain in the Logan City school district, it’s about students not being able to access school resources.
“Our school is kind of an inner city school,” Chamberlain said. “Our statistics are like 80% free and reduced lunch so people just don't have access at home to everything.”
Smith said the bottom line is making sure every student gets the best education and every teacher is appreciated.
“Teachers matter and that relationship between students and teacher is so important,” Smith said.
Foster said Zoom snow days might be more of a possibility in the future once the district can thoroughly train students and teachers.
