Many area school calendars build in 'snow days'

Many area parents already know how their children are going to make up missed school days from the snowstorms.

That's because their districts pad their calendars with a few "snow days" added to the end of the year. That way, everyone knows in advance what will happen if bad weather forces closures, with the extra days canceled if not needed.

Most schools have gotten off with only two or three missed days and a few late starts because two of the three big storms have been on weekends.

Still, since it is not unusual to see big accumulations well into March, school officials are keeping their fingers crossed. Every school in Pennsylvania must get in at least 180 instructional days for students.

If days off exceed the number of days built into the schedule, the school year must be extended or no-class days turned into school days, drawing the ire of parents who have scheduled vacations for holidays or for right after the last day of school.

The Philadelphia School District has a 181-day student school year; it has closed for five days so far, so it must make up four. Schools Superintendent Arlene Ackerman said the district had applied to the state Department of Education for a waiver in the hope it will not have to make up that many. She said she was considering many ways to fit the time in, but declined to elaborate.

The West Chester Area School District schedules four extra snow days. This year, the student school year ends June 17, but if there had been no cancellations, it would have been cut back to June 11. So far, the district has had three snow days, within the margin. "This way, we just about never have to extend" the school year, said district spokesman Rob Partridge.

"In this community, there is a high value placed on certainty," he added. "You'd have to have a pretty spectacular snow season to go beyond four. Of course, this may be one of those years."

Not all districts schedule extra days; some wait until spring to decide how to adjust the calendar.

The Downingtown Area School District used to put in snow days, but after several years in which none was used, it now schedules only a 180-day student calendar, said spokeswoman Patricia McGlone. So, with three missed days so far, the Chester County district will likely extend the school year from June 15 to at least June 18, she said. "Parents have been telling us their children are scheduled to start summer camps on the 21st . . . so we hope we won't have to go that long," McGlone said.

In Bucks County's Pennridge School District, some missed days are made up by scheduling designated no-class days during the year as potential school days, said spokesman Joe Ferry. The district has lost two days so far; one will be made up April 26, originally a staff-only day. The other will be added at the end of the school year, which will now run until at least June 17, Ferry said.

Several districts, including Central Bucks and Springfield, Delaware County, exceed the 180-day school year, but regard most of the additions as needed instruction time. Springfield, for example, has 186 student days; only two are used for cancellations. "We want as much instruction time as possible," said Superintendent James Capolupo. "It's not about just getting in the minimum requirement."

The district had three closures so far this year, so it has pushed the last student day back one day, to June 22.

Many districts don't like using no-class days for makeups. "We prefer to add on to end of the school year rather than take away existing school days and holidays," said Dana Spino, spokeswoman for Delaware County's Upper Darby district.

New Jersey's Cherry Hill district did just that Monday, however, with Presidents' Day. And the Delsea Regional School District is cutting one day of spring break - April 1 - and adding two more to the end of the school year.

"People that have already planned ahead and booked a [spring break] trip, including teachers - that would be difficult for them," said Robin Harkins, cochair of the Parent Teacher Organization Council in the West Chester district. However, she said, "a lot of people don't like it when you get out very late" in June. "I don't think there's any way to make everybody happy."

The Philadelphia Archdiocese, with 72,540 students in 201 schools, had two snow days built in to its school calendar, said Mary E. Rochford, superintendent of schools. The number of days students have had off so far varied according to which school district provided transportation, she said.

Besides the hassle of rescheduling days, she said, snow closings "get you out of your rhythm. . . . I think everybody is thrilled to be back" in school.