WEST DES MOINES, Iowa -- Online learning models most Iowa school districts have used during the COVID-19 pandemic may also spell the end of a winter tradition--snow days.
"Instead of having a traditional day off where students and teachers stay home, we could transition to online learning. That's the direction we would like to go" says Laine Mendenhall-Buck with the West Des Moines School District.
She says online learning instead of snow days frees the district from worrying about making up lost time due to weather.
"This would really help us from having to look at make-up days or number of hours that students have to have in a given school year" she says.
Mendenhall-Buck says the online option--even after the COVID-19 pandemic--gives the district some flexibility it lacked before.
"In situations like snow days or other unexpected things that might come up--we could be nimble and continue student learning" she says.
Mendenhall-Buck says even with online options for snow days, the the district will always prefer having students and teachers together in-person if possible.