Schools set make-up days
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on February 28, 2015 10:47 PM
Full Size
News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Students in Amanda Lee's first-grade class eagerly raise their hands to answer a math problem as Mrs. Lee shows them a flash card at Eastern Wayne Elementary School Saturday morning.
Make-up days have been announced for the six days missed over the past two weeks -- two of them extending the school year to June 12, Wayne County Public Schools officials announced Saturday.
The district was forced to close or cancel classes six days for students in traditional schools and seven for students at Wayne Early/Middle College High and Wayne School of Engineering.
The first spate of days off were primarily due to sub-zero wind chills and icy roadways. Classes resumed this past Monday, but snow arrived earlier than expected on Tuesday and was coming down so fast officials dismissed schools starting at 9:30 a.m. and resulted in the cancellation of classes on Wednesday.
Forecasters predicted the possibility of up to three inches of snow and sleet overnight Wednesday, prompting schools to call off school Thursday as well.
The storm missed Wayne County, but icy roads in some outlying areas still presented potential problems for buses, with school start times delayed two hours on Friday.
Saturday was used as the district's first make-up.
Students and staff reported on an abbreviated, early dismissal schedule.
WCPS administrators have reviewed local options and the N.C. General Statute 115C-84, which deals with school calendars, to determine where make-up days will be, Ken Derksen, director of communication services, said. According to the state, school systems must have a minimum of 185 days or 1,025 hours of instruction over nine calendar months.
For students in traditional schools, the additional make-up days will be taken from three early release days, March 11, April 29 and May 13. Those days will now become full days to compensate for lost instructional time.
And four teacher workdays have been converted to class days -- March 23, April 3, June 11 and June 12. The last day for students, formerly June 10, will now be June 12, which will be an early release days. June 10 will also be a full day for students.
Wayne Early/Middle and Wayne School of Engineering also used Saturday as a make-up day. Four teacher workdays, March 5 and 6, April 3 and May 21 will now be regular school days. The last day of school for students will now be May 21. It was originally May 20.
In the case of those two schools, two snow days will be waived in accordance with the state calendar flexibility waivers which the two special program schools operate under annually.
Interim Superintendent Dr. Sandra McCullen had said earlier in the week that every effort would be made to plug in days when students could attend without drawing upon the upcoming Easter break.
"Due to the strict confines of school calendar law, North Carolina public school districts are limited in how they can make up time for school closures," she said. "In developing revised calendars, our district has had to exhaust nearly every calendar option available for make-up time in order to maximize instructional time for students for the remainder of the school year. The revised school calendars also help protect the dates for commencement events and family vacation plans that may have been scheduled for spring break."
Revised calendars were to be sent home with students. A full schedule of the new schedule is also available on the district website at www.waynecountyschools.org.