Helpful Information About Weather Days and Distance Learning Days at JPS

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The following information is intended to give JPS staff members and parents a better understanding of weather days, distance learning days, and how decisions are made by the district when school is closed due to inclement weather or hazardous road conditions.

Jenks Public Schools places high value on in-person learning. Although distance learning is a suitable alternative, it is not as effective for student engagement and it can create equity issues for some students who may not be able to receive the same level of support at home as their peers. With five weather days already built into the JPS instructional calendar, there is room for students to simply have a “snow” day or “weather” day without adding days to the end of the school year.

There are some challenges in making a quick transition to distance learning. At JPS, only students in grades 7-12 take computer devices home daily. In addition, some students and teachers may not have materials necessary for distance learning when weather issues arise. The ability for staff members to work at school sites or teach from home must also be considered. As a result, distance learning is not the first option when an occasional weather day is necessary.

When JPS administrators can anticipate the potential of being out of school consecutive days, plans for distance learning may be communicated with parents and computers can be sent home with students in elementary and intermediate grades. If devices cannot be sent home with students, elementary and intermediate teachers will directly communicate lesson plans to parents via email. In these cases, students will not require a computer at home to complete the assignments.

For additional questions about distance learning, please contact your student’s principal or teacher. Thank you!