“This hasn’t happened since 2010, back when I called snow days in a different capacity,” said District Superintendent Matthew Harris.
P-T operated on Flexible Instruction Days (FID) from Jan. 26 to Jan. 30, with teachers instructing students through live Google Meets. These live lessons allow the district to meet the hourly requirement, rather than relying on the 180-day requirement.
Previously, schools were only allowed five days of online learning each year. Once exceeded, the day would be a traditional “snow day,” and makeup days would cut into spring break.
“This year, the state changed it so you can now count remote days as learning days if you do it like us,” Harris said.
Administration monitors teacher instruction to ensure lessons are still being taught digitally.
“Teachers share their classrooms and live Google Meets with principals. This way, we can log in and observe just like we could walk into a classroom when we are in school physically,” said P-T High School Principal Tony Aquilio via email. “We also review lesson plans regularly to make sure teaching is aligned with the curriculum.”
While Harris ultimately decides on school closures and delays, he works in coordination with the police, bus garage, Penn Township Road Crew, Manor Road Crew and Trafford Road Crew to ensure safety.
“I actually drove around as well as the road crew. I got input from the police, and Patty [Kroupa and Brian Griffith] from our bus garage actually took the bus into the bottom of all the housing plans. They did places like Ridge Road, Dry Dam, all the outskirts and sent back pictures,” Harris said.
A combination of snow and cold temperatures closed school for the beginning of the week, but Friday was mainly due to the temperature, said Harris. If the temperature drops below zero degrees or 15 degrees wind chill, P-T will delay or cancel school, according to Harris.
“Generally, all the schools in Westmoreland County agree to the same formula. That’s why on a cold day, we might all be canceled. But on a snow day, it just depends on where the snow falls,” Harris said.
Harris noted that P-T only coordinates with outside districts when the cancellation is temperature-related, not snow or ice-related.
The district will look into alternative options, like fully canceling without remote instruction, if another stretch of continuous FID days arises, according to Harris.
“Five days in a row is a lot for the kids and a lot for the parents too, especially at the elementary, since they have to help their kids,” Harris said.
In response to the FID days, Aquilio launched the second annual Snowman Contest, allowing any P-T student to submit a picture with their snowman for a chance to win $25 gift cards. Aquilio thought of the contest idea after wanting to help students experience the old-fashioned snow days of spending time outdoors with friends that many of their teachers once experienced.
“The Snowman Contest was a hit, and we had over 50 individual and group submissions. It was great to see so many students get involved and have a little fun,” Aquilio said.