BALTIMORE — The Maryland Board of Education on Tuesday approved Anne Arundel County Schools’ plan to implement virtual classes on inclement weather days.
The plan doesn’t necessarily mean bye-bye to good old-fashioned snow days. The virtual learning days will be implemented on a case-by-case basis, and no more than three virtual days will be used in a single marking period, the district said.
The school system can repurpose up to eight weather days for virtual instruction, with no more than three of those days using asynchronous instruction.
The plan is meant to help avoid an extension to the school year due to lost class time. Last year, schools let out a week later because of the days they had to make up due to inclement weather
“First of all, I don’t want kids on a device for eight hours,” the county’s superintendent Dr. Mark Bedell said last month. “At the end of the day, the reason for us making this recommendation of an amended, abbreviated schedule is that we can get our instruction in but also for students and families to be able to enjoy those weather days, and not put people in hardship by extending the school year.”
No student’s grade will be negatively impacted by a virtual learning day, the county said.