Watertown Schools Mull Options on Replacing Snow Days

The Watertown Public Schools' administrators are thinking hard about how to make up for lost time. 

On Thursday night, Watertown Superintendent Ann Koufman-Frederick outlined the different options administrators are considering to make up for any additional school days lost to inclement weather.

June 21 was scheduled to be the last day of school, however that date has already been pushed back to June 28 to make up for the five school days that have already been cancelled.

School districts are required to schedule a minimum of 180 school days, and they are prohibited from scheduling any days after June 30. The issue, stated Koufman-Frederick, is that it is still early February, and there is likely more snow to come.

One of the days that the schools have already identified as useable is March 14 – a professional development and teacher training day that will now be used as a regular school day. The school system will also consider shortening the vacation of April 19 to 21, and using the extra days as regular school days.

According to Koufman-Frederick, it is important to “maximize instructional time.”

This is one of main factors she said weighs heavily on a decision about replacing lost days. Koufman-Frederick also addressed the common suggestion of extending the school day an hour every day, however State Dept. of Education prohibits districts from considering this option.

Moving forward, Koufman-Frederick will continue to consult and compare with other districts and solicit input from parents and students as they consider the different options. By April 1, when the snow has hopefully completely subsided, the Superintendent will make a final determination about which days to schedule.