COLORADO SPRINGS — Thanks to the e-learning migration school districts have made during COVID-19, they're more ready than ever to do the same when it comes to inclement weather.
"Last year was a tough one, we had a lot of early snow days last year," Pueblo County District 70 spokesperson Todd Seip said.
In D70, early snowfalls make things tricky.
"We had three or four in just October alone last year and that really ate them up early," Seip said.
It's not that they don't expect the snow.
"We always try to build in a certain number of extra minutes into our calendars so that would cover maybe four, sometimes six extra days off," he said.
But there's just been too much lately.
"Even into February we were already changing our calendars for school," Seip said. "Starting a little earlier, ending a little later."
But then, COVID-19 hit and classes moved online.
"We are still kind of learning all the intricacies of Schoology, that's our online platform," he said. "We're starting our third week right now."
But even once in person classes can resume, that platform isn't going anywhere.
"We plan to continue to use schoology in the future," he said.
On days like Tuesday, it could come in handy.
"We will use it any time we have to close a school, whether it be a weather-related event, it could be a security issue," Seip said.
And D70 is not alone.
"We are still discussing some of the nuances of inclement weather days," Colorado Springs Distrct 11 spokesperson Devra Ashby said. "This early weather has actually prompted us to start discussing some of the more defined plans."
Those plans could include e-learning when the weather gets bad.
"At this point, for any full closures, our students would most likely have a remote learning day," Ashby said. "Teachers would teach remotely, as well."
