Late last year, Mohawk Trail and Hawlemont regional school districts became the latest in a string of area school systems to approve “blizzard bag” assignments for students to complete on snow days.
The Mohawk and Hawlemont school committees approved the blizzard bags approach in October and November last year.
As blizzard bag days count as attendance, schools do not need to tack on an extra day to the end of the school year to replace a snow day. Schools can call up to five “blizzard bag” days this season, although this weekend’s storm didn’t trigger the need today given it is a national holiday.
If students complete their “blizzard bags” within five days of the snow day, they receive credit for attendance, Michael Buoniconti, superintendent of Mohawk Trail and Hawlemont school districts, said in an interview Friday.
Buoniconti said that it is difficult for students to learn in summer, given the lack of air conditioning.
“I don’t know any schools that have air conditioners,” Buoniconti said. “The quality of learning for the kids is really kind of questionable” under those circumstances, he said.
The blizzard bag program will save the district $10,000 per day, Buoniconti said. The district’s annual budget is about $20 million.
The district trialed two “blizzard bag” days during spring vacation last year with positive results, Buoniconti said. Overall, 90 percent of students completed their “blizzard bag” assignments during the trial.
The “blizzard bag” assignments are prepared ahead of time. In high school, this can be difficult because classes move at different speeds. “Teachers want to map their assignment to the day before,” Buoniconti said.
Time allocated for assignments ranges from 30 minutes to two hours, depending on the grade.
“The rule of thumb, you always have some students who will complete a two-hour assignment in 30 minutes, while others will take four hours,” Buoniconti said. “As a rule, the average student will be able to complete the assignment in two hours.”
Mohawk and Hawlemont blizzard bags are designed to be done without use off the internet because part of the district – the hilltowns – do not have access to broadband, Buoniconti said. For students with internet, teachers will be available to answer emails, Buoniconti said.
“Some day, the promise of broadband will come to all the hilltowns,” Buoniconti said.
Districts will evaluate the “blizzard bag” program after one year and make changes if necessary, Buoniconti said.
You can reach Grace Bird at:
gbird@recorder.com
413 772 0261 ext. 280