Overton Schools Out Of Snow Days, White 2 Remaining

All 13 snow days for Overton County Schools have been used after classes were cancelled Friday.

Monday makes the 14th day missed. Interim Director of Schools Donnie Holman said now that the stockpile has been depleted, school officials are tasked with planning for future closures.

“All the stakeholders will get together, and we will have a discussion to see what we could do. What options we have,” Holman said. “Possibly, we could contact the state department to see if they have any options for us, because this is an unusual time and an unusual year.”

The White County School System enters the week with two days remaining for any more snow or spring storms.

Director of Schools Kurt Dronebarger said he expects a long term plan for virtual learning during weather closures to be created in coming weeks. Dronebarger said if this plan did go in place, it would help during a difficult school year.

“That wouldn’t be anything new for parents and families if we ended up having to use those for inclement weather,” Dronebarger said. “So, I don’t think it would be a big paradigm shift for anyone if that were to come to pass.”

Using virtual learning capabilities for Overton County snow days is a possibility, but Holman said he wants to review the pros and cons before making that decision. While a plan is being made, Holman said teachers will evaluate where students stand after the closures.

“When you take 13 days of instruction away, that is a lot,” Holman said. “That’s over half of a 20-day reporting period. That is a lot of good instruction time that is gone. I do know that our teachers are continually looking at our students academically.”

Dronebarger said if a virtual learning plan went into place, it could be a good long-term plan. Dronebarger said the weather closures can be more of a setback to learning than having students in quarantine.

“We’ll definitely meet as a team this week of administrators,” Dronebarger said. “Come up with a long-range plan in case there’s more snow in the coming weeks.”

Snow days are accumulated from extra time added to each school day.