After heavy rain falling throughout the day and temperatures quickly falling below freezing Monday night, several school districts in Southeast Tennessee and Northwest Georgia did not open for in-person learning on Tuesday.
Most took an old-fashioned snow day, with no instruction. But at least one district in the region took advantage of pandemic-era virtual learning skills to make it a learning day.
In Whitfield County, Georgia, Dalton Public Schools opted for digital learning because a lot of students are learning virtually and the district has the technology available.
“We have a learning management system and our teachers are already working through digital learning through those Canvas courses, so it’s just easy for students and staff to move into digital learning for one day and then hopefully we’ll be back tomorrow to in-person learning,” said Pat Holloway, chief of staff of Dalton Public Schools.
Other districts closed schools for both in-person and virtual learning, such as Hamilton County Schools, using one of the instructional days set aside for inclement weather to give teachers and students a day off – making it a four-day Presidents Day weekend.