Snow days add minutes in Georgia classes; Catoosa, Dade and Walker counties add time to school days

Dade County High School students head home at the end of the school day Monday, Mar. 9, 2015, in Trenton, Ga. The school day will be 15 minutes longer for these students starting next week.
Dade County High School students head home at the end of the school day Monday, Mar. 9, 2015, in Trenton, Ga. The school day will be 15 minutes longer for these students starting next week.
photo Dade County High School students head home at the end of the school day Monday, Mar. 9, 2015, in Trenton, Ga. The school day will be 15 minutes longer for these students starting next week.

Snow days gave students a break from school this winter. But as standardized test time comes closer, school officials want to make up for lost time.

They're adding minutes to the school day in Northwest Georgia. For example, starting Monday, Catoosa County Schools tacked on an extra 10 minutes to make up a portion of the seven snow days students have taken; school began five minutes earlier and ended five minutes later than usual.

Adding minutes could make a difference, said Joshua Goodman, a former high school math teacher who now studies education as an assistant professor in public policy at Harvard Kennedy School.

"Would they take the extra time seriously, or will it be 'fake time?'" Goodman asked. "If they take it seriously, then it may well have some small benefit."

Longer days

* Catoosa County Schools to add 10 minutes -- five in morning, five at night * Walker County Schools to add 20 minutes at end of school day * Dade County Schools to add 15 minutes -- five in morning, 10 at night Source: Respective school districts

Georgia school officials in the tri-state area expect to have to make up snow days, but Tennessee officials don't.

Georgia calls for 180 days of instruction, or its equivalent in minutes, said Matt Cardoza, spokesman for the state education department. But Georgia allows four days for emergencies, and the state board of education is expected at its April 2 meeting to waive more days for schools in counties in which Gov. Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency during winter storms.

Meanwhile, the Hamilton County Department of Education doesn't need to make up any of the nine snow days its students have taken this winter, district officials say. The district has an extra 30 minutes built into each school day, which gives it nine snow days to use.

Hamilton County students have achievement tests and end-of-course tests in late April and early May.

"We'll have to do the best that we can," said Kirk Kelly, the district's director of accountability and testing. "We're going to have to do a lot of extra work."

School closures because of weather usually don't have an impact on overall student achievement, said Goodman, who authored a research paper, "Flaking Out: Student Absences and Snow Days as Disruptions of Instructional Time." A student's individual absences are much more harmful, he found.

However, Goodman cautioned that his research was based on a typical year in the South with two or three snow days off -- not the seven, eight or nine snow days seen this winter.

School officials could cope with snow days, he said, by pushing off test dates to as late in the school year as possible. Chattanooga had already scheduled tests as late as possible before the snow hit.

"Right now, we can't move it back any," said Kelly.

The Dade County Board of Education held a Monday night work session to consider making up a portion of its eight taken snow days by adding 15 minutes to the school day: five minutes in the morning and 10 minutes at night.

"I know 15 minutes doesn't sound like a lot," schools Superintendent Cherie Swader said.

She said the district's teachers think it will make a difference. It's better to add minutes now, Swader said, than add days at the end of the school year, because standardized testing scheduled in April and May will be over then. Making up the two days over spring break isn't a good option, either, she said, because that would result in absences.

"If people have plans, they go ahead and take their spring break," Swader said.

Walker County Schools plans to add an extra 20 minutes to the end of its school day starting March 16 to make up two of the eight snow days it had this year.

That should help students prepare for the Georgia Milestones End of Grade and end-of-course tests, according to schools Superintendent Damon Raines.

"I think it'll make a difference," he said.

Raines opted to add the time at the end of the day, because "the most difficult schedule to adjust for parents is the [morning] schedule. Your job kind of dictates when you need to leave in the morning."

Catoosa County Schools officials felt five minutes in both the morning and afternoon would be least disruptive.

"When we must make up inclement weather days, we work to find a solution that will minimize disruption in students' and parents' schedules," schools Superintendent Denia Reese said. "We also try to avoid taking any days from spring break or adding days at the end of the school year when families may have vacation plans."

Cleveland City Schools used eight snow days this year, so it has one day left to use. The district in Cleveland, Tenn., pushed back the date of a writing assessment test and also delayed the ACT college preparation test until March 17, Director of Schools Martin Ringstaff said.

"I'm not panicked by the loss of eight days," said Ringstaff. "Teachers are great at ... making changes on the fly. I think students will rise to the challenge."

Contact staff writer Tim Omarzu at tomarzu@timesfreepress.com or www.facebook.com/tim.omarzu or twitter.com/TimOmarzu or 423-757-6651.

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