Due to hazardous winter weather conditions, district schools and administrative offices were closed on Thursday, Jan. 15, then closed again Tuesday, Jan. 20 due to extreme cold.
Midterms at the high school were originally scheduled for Jan. 13-15. After two days of school closures, the final day of midterms was rescheduled to Wednesday, Jan. 21, six days after the originally set date.
Junior Thomas Fadel said he benefited from the time off. “It was overall really beneficial. I got more free time in general, just to do other things that I love and hobbies. It also gave me more time to study as well. I know that it helped some of my classmates,” he said.
Sophomore A’King Alexander said that he appreciated the closures. “It helped me a lot. It gave me more time to study for midterms and focus on getting everything that I need to. I’m very grateful,” he said.
Patty Bena, who teaches Algebra I and Geometry, said the break weakened exam performance. “It impacted the ability of students and how students did on the test. We planned activities and got kids in the right mindset, we reviewed the right topics, and then all of a sudden a long break,” she said.
Algebra II and IB math teacher Katie McFadden said closure’s impact on midterm preparation depends on the student. “More time spent away from the teacher or classroom can lead to some knowledge being lost. For some students, it benefits them because they can use that time to their advantage. But for the majority of students, I think it impacts them in a negative way,” she said.
Sophomore Oceanne Kabore said that her school routine was interrupted by the snow day. “It was really annoying because after I studied, after I did all that, it was just boom — a break. I wish we just had Monday off; I would’ve got a better grade that way,” she said.
Bena said that the consequences of rescheduling finals could have been prevented if they had been scheduled to occur before winter break. “It raises a question of if midterms should be scheduled in January, or should they be held in December? Because ideally, those students would have done better. Finals would have been over already,” she said.
One of the hazardous winter weather conditions that contributed to the Jan. 15 closure was a snow squall. According to the National Weather Service, “A snow squall is an intense short-lived burst of heavy snowfall that leads to a quick reduction in visibilities and is often accompanied by gusty winds.” Snow squalls create whiteout conditions within minutes, which can cause injuries and fatalities. They last around 30-60 minutes.
Continuing extreme weather, including snow and below-zero temperatures forecast for Friday through Monday, mean the district may face one or more additional calamity days. Ohio school districts must be open for instruction for a minimum of 1,001 hours each school year. While Shaker’s calendar exceeds that minimum, some school districts use online learning on weather days to meet hour requirements or to avoid losing instructional time. The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce states that other solutions for falling short of the minimal hours include adding more days to the school calendar.
Walter Slovikovski, who teaches Algebra II and a College Credit Plus math course, said more calamity days will cause learning challenges for his classes. “It’ll be hard, especially for the students taking college classes. With CCP, you need all the time you can get, and snow days make that hard. The pacing gets thrown off. It’s a scramble,” he said.
9 Math Honors and IB math teacher Ryan Routh said the recent closures affected his students. “If you did a review packet, and then you had to take a test a week later, that’s a big gap. And that could cause some students to do worse. I felt bad for a student that was well prepared, and they kept having to prepare again and again and again,” he said.
Slovikovski said if a school closure happens, the district may require teachers to give students assignments to complete at home. “They’re called ‘backpack days.’ Students can be given a packet to take home, or have something to do in Google Classroom. It keeps the class on track,” he said.
At 8 a.m. tomorrow, the National Weather Service predicts a temperature of 7 degrees, a windchill of minus 10 degrees and wind gusts of 36 mph. By 3 p.m. the NWS predicts 5 degrees, a minus-12 degree windchill and wind gusts of 28 mph.
Freshman Dermot Grimberg would like another bad-weather closure tomorrow. “I want a snow day. I want sleep,” he said.
Sophomore Varnika Takhi said she wants a snow day tomorrow so she doesn’t have to deal with the cold weather going home. “I don’t wanna walk home in negative degrees,” she said.
Adam Thomas, who teaches Algebra I and AP Calculus, said he favors a closure tomorrow. “Yes, I want another snow day. It’s a day off at home to watch movies with my kids. Give me more snow days!!” he said.
Sophomore Kara Ekeberg said she wouldn’t mind a snow day. Said Ekeberg, “It’s Friday lift, and I don’t like front squatting.”
