So far, none of the snow days missed by Crittenden County students this winter will have to be made up in the spring, according to Al Starnes, director of pupil personnel.
In recent years, the school calendar has been designed with a certain number of built-in snow days. There were eight snow days included in this year’s calendar. So far, students have missed four days, so they have four more available for wintry weather before days have to be made up. The way it's looking, some of those might be used this week as snow is forecast for Thursday.
If students end up missing nine days due to snow, eight will be covered and one day would be made up on April 11. If 10 days are missed, it's the same plan except for the 10th day being made up on March 8.
When schools are canceled or even delayed, a great deal of thought and time goes into each decision, Starnes said. Once a forecast for snow has been issued, Starnes immediately starts tracking the looming weather. Once snow has fallen, school officials are out checking conditions firsthand.
Using a weather application on his phone, watching WPSD and staying in touch with the National Weather Service, Starnes is able to be on top of weather forecasts. Consulting with officials from surrounding counties helps, too. When it snows, the school sends an automated phone message to hundreds of numbers at once. You can also check here at The Press Online for closing updates.
For more, see this week's printed edition.
