When you tell kids that you are turning snow days into school days, you are bound to hit a wall.
“At first I wasn’t very happy with that because that means I have to actually to work,” said Morgan Feltz, a freshman at Neenah High School.
It’s changed the culture at school, but it has a payoff.
“That means I don’t have to come in in June when it’s 70 degrees and sunny,” she said. “And I can be doing work for three hours when it’s -50 in December, so it makes sense.”
For the first time, all the schools in the Neenah Joint School District have adopted digital learning days.
You get a tablet or a laptop–depending on your grade level–and that becomes your classroom if there is too much snow on the ground.
“I do enjoy being at home because even though we still do the majority of the work, there’s still extra time for you to do things at home and do stuff out in the snow and take a relaxing day,” said Josh Frank, a sophomore at Neenah High School.
Making sure all 6,700 students have internet access was a hurdle, but it was overcome through years of planning.
Teachers set their courses up with videos, homework, and answer questions in real time.
“You can still get a lot done, even if you don’t have the same social interaction,” he said. “We have online discussions that we partake in, and we do a lot of activities that we can still do at school.”
Even more active classes like Band are covered–just log your time and you’re ready to pick up right where you left off.
“You can do a class here and a class there, but as long as you get it done, you come in the next day and you’re prepared for what you’re learning,” said Feltz.
Digital learning days have saved the Neenah Joint School District from five snow days this year.
