Avery students profit from scarce snow
Matthew Hundley / (matthew.hundley@averyjournal.com)
As of presstime, Avery County Schools has seen only three snow days so far in the 2011-12 school year, a remarkably low count for the beginning of February. Typically a fixture of the school schedule in late December and January, snow days have been nearly absent along with many other consequences of winter weather, which has been notably mild. While the lack of winter weather has caused trouble for the winter sports tourism industry, the lack of winter weather serious enough to cancel school may prove to be a benefit to students throughout Avery County, according to Superintendent David Burleson, who explained that a snow day may be a nice break, but the negative effects on education are serious for students, teachers and parents.
“The inconsistency when you miss like that is tough,” said Burleson. “It is tough on students, it is tough on parents and it is very tough on teachers. As a teacher, when you miss a lot of days, it is tough to continue instruction. There is no doubt that if students are learning a certain subject, and they miss a week or two weeks in a month, then it is really hard to continue. When you do not miss school, instruction is not interrupted; you don’t have this learning gap. For students, when they have a routine, it is a lot easier for them. I know it is easier for mom and dad.”
Burleson explained that unpredictable breaks in the school week wreak havoc on a teacher’s ability to plan and, therefore, the student’s education.
“Let’s say that you are trying to follow a pacing guide,” said Burleson. “You have a week’s worth of lessons planned. Let’s say you are two days into that plan and you miss a week of school. Well, why not go back and just start where you ended? It is not that easy because of that gap. When you have continuous instruction, you get to cover a whole lot more.”
Burleson’s example coincided with the testimony of Chantae Hoilman, a seventh-grade math teacher at Avery Middle School. According to Hoilman, her own experiences echo Burleson’s description of the difficulties caused by snow days. In fact, the lack of snow cancellations has made Hoilman’s job much less complicated this year.
“In math, it makes it a lot easier, because I do not have to reteach what I have already taught,” said Hoilman. “This time of year, I teach probability, and I do not have to stop and reteach it when they come back after a snowstorm because they forgot everything they learned.”
According to Burleson, the consistency and routine of a regular schedule uninterrupted by snow render benefits for students months later when the time comes for testing.
“I do not think anyone has really researched that, and done a study, but just based on common knowledge, it is easy to say that lack of consistency can’t improve test scores. I think if you were to go back and research that topic, you would find that the years that we miss few snow days, our achievement is better. Do I have that in writing? No. But as I reflect back on my almost 30 years, I think I can say that those years when we had more consistency, test scores were better, because it has to be better for instruction.”
Beyond the benefits to students and teachers, avoiding snow days is helpful for other school departments and even parents. According to Jeff Lyons, director of transportation for ACS, fewer snow days means fewer breakdowns for his buses.
“It makes things a lot easier when we can keep the buses on the road,” said Lyons. “When we are running them, they do not give us the problems that they do if they sit for a few days. If it is cold and they sit for a few days, then it causes more trouble.”
Many parents find snow days to be a major cost and inconvenience, as the added cost of childcare or lost wages from staying home from work can cause financial hardship.
While students, teachers, the school system and parents may benefit from a low number of snow cancellations this year, Burleson warned against getting too comfortable in the unseasonably warm weather.
“Here, where we live, it is a beautiful place, but we do have the weather to deal with. This year, so far, we have been extremely fortunate,” said Burleson. “I have seen a lot of tough winters growing up here. I was a student back in 1976-77 and 1977-78. Those, other than 1960, went down on record as some of the most severe winters we have experienced in Avery County. My senior year, we graduated on June 28. We actually did miss all of January, most of February, the last half of December and some of March.” Added Burleson, the winter is not over yet.
“Who knows what may happen in February,” he said. “We have even had big snows in March.”
Making the snow day decision
David Burleson, superintendent of ACS, and Jeff Lyons, director of transportation for ACS, described the process that goes in to making the decision to cancel school due to inclement weather. Though it has not come up much this school year, the decision of whether to close school involves much more than many might imagine.
“It is one of the toughest decisions you make,” said Burleson. “It is one that most people scrutinize more than anything. You would love for the decisions you make about curriculum and instruction to be the most important, but in most people’s eyes it is the snow days because we are dealing with the kids’ safety.”
Burleson explained that the bottom line for safety on the roads has to be the highest risk drivers.“Is it safe for a 16-year-old to be on the road?” asks Burleson when making the decision. “We have great bus drivers who are well-trained and cautious. They understand what it means to drive on slick roads, but we have student drivers who have just gotten their license, and we want to make sure the roads are safe for them.”
Whether the road is safe for a 16-year-old may seem a little subjective, but the central office staff take a lot more into account, gathering information from various local authorities.
“We contact the department of transportation. We call the sheriff’s office to see what their deputies have seen, because they are out on the road. We call Avery Communication to make sure they have not gotten any reports of poor road conditions or wrecks,” said Burleson.
In addition to consulting local authorities, Burleson, Lyons and one more ACS employee, Jim Ciociola, take to the roads early on questionable mornings to check conditions for themselves.
“Jeff has a certain area he will drive,” said Burleson. “There is a certain area of the county I drive around. Jim Ciociola has a section. The three of us go around the county. We usually start about 3 a.m.”
According to Lyons, the three compare notes and confer based on what their years of experience have taught them about weather in Avery County.
“What we have found is that there are certain weather patterns that you get,” said Lyons. “The southern end doesn’t get a whole lot. A lot of times we decide whether to have school based on what happens north of Crossnore. If it is coming from the west, you are going to get a lot of snow.” Lyons explained that other patterns, such as southern storms bringing ice, help inform the overall cancellation decision. Lyons even contacts the school systems from other counties to determine what kind of weather may be bearing down on Avery County.
“We meet back here at the office at 5 a.m.,” Burleson said. “We will take that data we have collected and observations, plus what the department of transportation and sheriff’s office have told us. We monitor the forecast. Then, around 5 a.m., we determine what we are going to do.”
Even at that point, however, the central services team is not out of the woods yet.
“Then we have to decide whether it is appropriate for staff,” said Burleson. “My rule of thumb is, would I want my wife on the road? If I would not want her on the road, then we do some kind of delay or cancellation for staff.”
“The inconsistency when you miss like that is tough,” said Burleson. “It is tough on students, it is tough on parents and it is very tough on teachers. As a teacher, when you miss a lot of days, it is tough to continue instruction. There is no doubt that if students are learning a certain subject, and they miss a week or two weeks in a month, then it is really hard to continue. When you do not miss school, instruction is not interrupted; you don’t have this learning gap. For students, when they have a routine, it is a lot easier for them. I know it is easier for mom and dad.”
Burleson explained that unpredictable breaks in the school week wreak havoc on a teacher’s ability to plan and, therefore, the student’s education.
“Let’s say that you are trying to follow a pacing guide,” said Burleson. “You have a week’s worth of lessons planned. Let’s say you are two days into that plan and you miss a week of school. Well, why not go back and just start where you ended? It is not that easy because of that gap. When you have continuous instruction, you get to cover a whole lot more.”
Burleson’s example coincided with the testimony of Chantae Hoilman, a seventh-grade math teacher at Avery Middle School. According to Hoilman, her own experiences echo Burleson’s description of the difficulties caused by snow days. In fact, the lack of snow cancellations has made Hoilman’s job much less complicated this year.
“In math, it makes it a lot easier, because I do not have to reteach what I have already taught,” said Hoilman. “This time of year, I teach probability, and I do not have to stop and reteach it when they come back after a snowstorm because they forgot everything they learned.”
According to Burleson, the consistency and routine of a regular schedule uninterrupted by snow render benefits for students months later when the time comes for testing.
“I do not think anyone has really researched that, and done a study, but just based on common knowledge, it is easy to say that lack of consistency can’t improve test scores. I think if you were to go back and research that topic, you would find that the years that we miss few snow days, our achievement is better. Do I have that in writing? No. But as I reflect back on my almost 30 years, I think I can say that those years when we had more consistency, test scores were better, because it has to be better for instruction.”
Beyond the benefits to students and teachers, avoiding snow days is helpful for other school departments and even parents. According to Jeff Lyons, director of transportation for ACS, fewer snow days means fewer breakdowns for his buses.
“It makes things a lot easier when we can keep the buses on the road,” said Lyons. “When we are running them, they do not give us the problems that they do if they sit for a few days. If it is cold and they sit for a few days, then it causes more trouble.”
Many parents find snow days to be a major cost and inconvenience, as the added cost of childcare or lost wages from staying home from work can cause financial hardship.
While students, teachers, the school system and parents may benefit from a low number of snow cancellations this year, Burleson warned against getting too comfortable in the unseasonably warm weather.
“Here, where we live, it is a beautiful place, but we do have the weather to deal with. This year, so far, we have been extremely fortunate,” said Burleson. “I have seen a lot of tough winters growing up here. I was a student back in 1976-77 and 1977-78. Those, other than 1960, went down on record as some of the most severe winters we have experienced in Avery County. My senior year, we graduated on June 28. We actually did miss all of January, most of February, the last half of December and some of March.” Added Burleson, the winter is not over yet.
“Who knows what may happen in February,” he said. “We have even had big snows in March.”
Making the snow day decision
David Burleson, superintendent of ACS, and Jeff Lyons, director of transportation for ACS, described the process that goes in to making the decision to cancel school due to inclement weather. Though it has not come up much this school year, the decision of whether to close school involves much more than many might imagine.
“It is one of the toughest decisions you make,” said Burleson. “It is one that most people scrutinize more than anything. You would love for the decisions you make about curriculum and instruction to be the most important, but in most people’s eyes it is the snow days because we are dealing with the kids’ safety.”
Burleson explained that the bottom line for safety on the roads has to be the highest risk drivers.“Is it safe for a 16-year-old to be on the road?” asks Burleson when making the decision. “We have great bus drivers who are well-trained and cautious. They understand what it means to drive on slick roads, but we have student drivers who have just gotten their license, and we want to make sure the roads are safe for them.”
Whether the road is safe for a 16-year-old may seem a little subjective, but the central office staff take a lot more into account, gathering information from various local authorities.
“We contact the department of transportation. We call the sheriff’s office to see what their deputies have seen, because they are out on the road. We call Avery Communication to make sure they have not gotten any reports of poor road conditions or wrecks,” said Burleson.
In addition to consulting local authorities, Burleson, Lyons and one more ACS employee, Jim Ciociola, take to the roads early on questionable mornings to check conditions for themselves.
“Jeff has a certain area he will drive,” said Burleson. “There is a certain area of the county I drive around. Jim Ciociola has a section. The three of us go around the county. We usually start about 3 a.m.”
According to Lyons, the three compare notes and confer based on what their years of experience have taught them about weather in Avery County.
“What we have found is that there are certain weather patterns that you get,” said Lyons. “The southern end doesn’t get a whole lot. A lot of times we decide whether to have school based on what happens north of Crossnore. If it is coming from the west, you are going to get a lot of snow.” Lyons explained that other patterns, such as southern storms bringing ice, help inform the overall cancellation decision. Lyons even contacts the school systems from other counties to determine what kind of weather may be bearing down on Avery County.
“We meet back here at the office at 5 a.m.,” Burleson said. “We will take that data we have collected and observations, plus what the department of transportation and sheriff’s office have told us. We monitor the forecast. Then, around 5 a.m., we determine what we are going to do.”
Even at that point, however, the central services team is not out of the woods yet.
“Then we have to decide whether it is appropriate for staff,” said Burleson. “My rule of thumb is, would I want my wife on the road? If I would not want her on the road, then we do some kind of delay or cancellation for staff.”