Tag: Karl Janson

Missouri School Districts could have new ways to deal with interruptions in students’ education caused by snow days, under a bill being offered in the Missouri House.

The proposal by Lamar Republican Mike Kelley would allow districts to create plans for students to do schoolwork from home on up to 10 days on which school is out of session for inclement weather.  These “alternative instruction plans,” could include the use of online work or some other form of activity.

On the days districts utilize those plans, the state would give those districts credit for being in session.

“Inclement weather is very disruptive to the educational process,” said Kelley.  “During harsh winters, especially, with normal school routine disrupted over and over while they’re trying to educate students, this is a way to help make sure that they can continue to educate students and make sure they’re prepared for spring testing.”

Kelley said the idea was brought to him by the superintendent of the Everton School District, Doctor Karl Janson.

Janson said closures for inclement weather, interruptions in utility service, illness, or any other reasons cause disruptions to students’ education.

“It’s hard to get students back on track, and so it takes another day to get them on track on top of the day you lost and then catch up and keep on going from there.  So every time you lose a day you’re actually losing about two days,” said Janson.

Janson admits the idea is not his.

“I actually was at a rural conference in Kentucky last year where they missed on average 25 days a year out in Appalachia, and that’s where this plan started,” said Janson.  “It’s called the ‘Kentucky Snow Plan.’”

Kelley said the concept could help districts with issues that Janson and other superintendents have raised about the problems with making up excessive missed days at the end of a school year.

“In many cases if you’re bringing them at the end of the school year, you’ve got families that have already made trips and they’re just not going to show up, you’ve got seniors who have already graduated and they’re not going to come in, so you truly are losing educational opportunity as well just students in general because you’re trying to tack things on at the end of the year,” said Kelley.

The bill would require the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to develop rules regarding these alternative instruction plans.  It would allow districts to begin using them in the 2018-19 school year.

The proposal is House Bill 127.