By the middle of January, the Welches Schools, and schools throughout the
Oregon Trail School District (OTSD), had been closed for 13 days due to
winter weather and icy conditions, plus two days with late starts. And while
snow days are often a welcome respite for students from a typical school day,
the sheer number of them has some kids longing to go back and their parents
wondering about the impact on their education.

“The problem is, they’ve set the standard,” said Nicole Stenson, mother of a
kindergartener and a third grader, about closing schools due to even a threat
of bad road conditions. “Which seems to me like a really flawed strategy. It
seems to me like when everybody’s going to work, something’s amiss.”

In response to the lost days of school, the OTSD board of directors approved
changes to the school calendar at a Thursday, Jan. 26 board meeting. The
changes include extending the end of school to Friday, June 9 for Sandy High
School (SHS) seniors and to Friday, June 16 for students in grades
kindergarten through 11 (a change of two days); the elimination of early
release days beginning Wednesday, March 1 (providing 13 more hours of
instructional time); and adding 21 minutes per day to the beginning of school
at Sandy High School, starting Tuesday, Jan. 31 (the start time will now be
7:24 a.m.).

Julia Monteith, OTSD Communications Director, noted the changes came down
to the number of instructional hours mandated by the state.

“We always go above and beyond those hours and we had a little bit of a
cushion,” she said.

Graduation for SHS will not be affected by the calendar changes. Morning bus
schedules for the high school on the mountain will be approximately 10
minutes earlier for routes 1, 2, 4 and 5. The changes are expected to be
updated on the district’s website, oregontrailschools.com.

Alicia Schnadig, a mother of three (a fourth grader, second grader and
preschooler), expressed her concern that the inconsistent school schedule
could have an impact on the state testing later this year.

“I feel like they’re missing out on a lot of their education right now,” she said.
“I’m worried about them, because they’re still going to have to do all the state
testing that’s required of them.”

Schnadig noted that her family has good tires and four-wheel drive, allowing
them to get out during snow days, including going sledding, cross country
skiing and snowboarding.

“We’ve done all kinds of stuff,” she said. “But they’re definitely bored and
want to go back. You can only go sledding so many times.”

Schnadig also noted that while she stays at home with her children, the snow
days offer challenges for parents who need to work, adding that she knows
people who have had to pay for childcare because their kids didn’t go to
school.

Stenson, who also stays home with her children, would like to see better snow
routes for buses, while adding that she believes parents could figure out a
way to carpool when the weather turns bad to get students in.

“We’re a small community here,” she said. “We will pull together and get our
kids to school.”

Stenson added that her family filled the snow days with skiing, sledding and
some indoor activities, such as Minecraft. But she also noticed that her
youngest child is suffering from the lack of school.

“His reading has definitely regressed,” Stenson said. “That was kind of
disappointing.”

Patty Chesla, a mother of a fifth grader, works for the Gresham-Barlow School
District, and noted she had resources to help her daughter continue her
studies. Unfortunately, her daughter had a broken arm, eliminating sledding
and skiing as snow day activities.

Chesla added that while she understands that some parents wouldn’t want the
school year extended and summer vacation diminished, she would prefer to
have the days missed tacked on to the end of the calendar.

“People have plane tickets, I totally get both sides,” she said. “I just don’t
want my child cheated on her education.”

Principal Kendra Payne shares these concerns, as she has two children at the
school, a fifth grader and a third grader. She noted that while they’ve been
busy playing outside, playing games inside, watching movies and tending to
firewood (along with some reading and math), she knew the snow days that
helped extend the winter break will mean students and staff will have to start
over with the routines and structures of the school day.

“We’re going to have to hit the ground running when we come back,” Payne
said, adding that she also knows that some students might have even lacked
access to full meals during snow days. “Rebuilding back the schedules can
take time.”

But she also expressed her confidence in the school staff to make up for the
lost instruction time, even if they have to do things a bit differently.
“We have a great staff, they’re hard working and ready to get back,” Payne
said. “(They always) come up with good solutions during times like this.”