by Connor Schumacher ‘15
The Ohio Legislature has acted to significantly modify the system for determining how often schools call snow days, otherwise known as calamity days. Starting in the 2014-15 school year, the state will begin to evaluate time in school – and thus requirements for total amount of time students spend in class – not by days, but by hours. The revised state mandate will require that schools be in session for a minimum of 1,001 hours a year, instead of the current minimum of 178 days.
Dean of Teachers Mr. Ptak said that the hours are calculated on a basic formula by multiplying all the hours of the day, excepting homeroom and lunch periods, by the amount of days in the school year. Generally, Saint Ignatius High school totals around 180 days. That basic calculation would estimate that school is in session for about 1,095 hours a school year- well above the state mandate of 1,001 hours.
However, the administration still needs to subtract all the hours lost during days when the schedule is irregular, including delayed starts, early dismissals, and rally schedules. Even after compensating for those lost hours, the administration expects the school to remain in session with a solid safety cushion above the mandate, creating flexibility in case there is a need for snow days. Snow days, then, would be subtracted from the hours in which school is in session.
Mr. Ptak is less concerned about fulfilling the state mandate than ensuring that Saint Ignatius students are able to get sufficient time with their teachers.
“What is more important is how much time students need to be in class to really learn and excel in their classes. That is of far greater concern to us than fulfilling a state mandate,” Ptak said.
Although state regulations have changed, Saint Ignatius policy for calling snowdays has not.
“We [the administration] will close school if it is unsafe for the students, not to satisfy minimum hours or days,” said Principal Bradesca.
