On January 26, 2022, Oshkosh reached its lowest temperature so far this year at -17℉. Many schools near the area were delayed or shut down for the day due to this condition. Students wonder as to why West remained open and what would happen in the future if the temperature decreases drastically. According to the official Oshkosh Area School District website, if wind chills are -35℉ or lower, the school board will consider a delay for the school day. The district also claims that they don’t commonly call off school on cold days because many households have parents who leave for work and have no childcare arrangements before the end of the school day. Typically, the problem that occurs with cold weather is the transportation factor. Many students walk to school or take the bus. If the roads are bad or the buses are unable to drive in the extremely cold atmosphere, countless numbers of students would be missing school that day.

One action that has been taken into consideration before is going virtual these days.

Students are not exactly fond of this idea because of their experience in 2020 when the district went virtual due to COVID-19. We asked some students their thoughts about this virtual plan and some said "virtual school affected my mental health negatively" and, "it was the worst. I never want to do that again." This year, our school is trying to focus on improving students’ mental health, which is the reason we just had a couple of days off. But would only a day or two of being virtual influence a student's mental health too badly? Many people see a snow day as a relaxing time for people to leave their worries about school behind and to focus on their wellbeing. Going virtual can change their perspective on that. In the quarantine of 2020, numerous students didn't have the motivation to complete their schoolwork and join their online classes. This makes us assume that many people would react the same to the situation if the district were to call off school for a day. Our district has shown their interest in our mental health this year, but will they be able to keep a hold of that if we have virtual snow days?

Another downside to virtual snow days is the workload for teachers. Since we’ve been in person thus far into the school year, teachers are used to doing in-person activities and limiting the use of Chromebooks. Going virtual on a whim would force teachers to change their lesson plans, and they wouldn’t have much time to do it. While the weather forecast can sometimes help teachers predict when a snow day is in store, it’s ultimately up to the district as to whether or not the school stays home. For example, on January 26th, many were expecting to stay home, however, school was in full swing. There have also been times when snow days are a surprise, as there’s more snowfall or colder temperatures than originally predicted. This makes it hard for teachers to plan virtual lessons ahead of time and raises the question, is it worth it? Is it worth the stress for both students and teachers to take a quick virtual turn? It would be more reasonable if we were in a scenario in which weather was bad for days to weeks on end; however this is an unlikely situation as in Wisconsin, the snow is nothing new to us.

While virtual snow days may have their fair share of negative impacts on teachers and students, the district has valid reasons for considering them. One of which is transportation. There are numerous kids at West who either walk or take the bus to school, and while some on the bus have the luxury of simply walking down their driveways, others have to wait at the bus stop. While the wait isn’t particularly long, it is still unsafe for students to be outside in the below-freezing temperatures, especially considering many students don’t dress for the weather. Another transportation issue arises when there’s too much snow. Cars and buses won’t start, and the roads are often unclear. In these circumstances, virtual snow days would help all students have access to their class material. If snow days become virtual, the district will likely be more willing to “cancel” school when the weather is risky. This means no one would have to worry about not being able to come to school as a result of the hazardous conditions affecting their transportation.

An additional benefit to virtual snow days would be that our school won’t have to set back their lesson schedule and risk a possible extension to the school year. A problem that has occurred in the past with unexpected snow days was that teachers had to delay their lesson plans. Delaying their lesson can cause some complications with their schedule for the rest of the year! Teachers have to manage their stress and keep calm when these unanticipated days occur. This turns a relaxing day for students into a nightmare for teachers. If the district decided to use Zoom, Canvas, and other online resources to apply virtual lessons, it would allow the school day to go as planned for future cold days. Especially now that our district is somewhat used to what virtual learning is like as of quarantine in 2020, it should be easier for schools to use what resources they have available to continue their classes.

Another upsetting factor of snow days for both students and teachers is if we have used up the number of snow days our district has available, we would have to possibly extend our school year! Sure, it would only be one or two days more but, by that time everyone is jumping out of their seats for summer vacation! If we add virtual learning to any snow/cold days, we would be able to keep our school year the same length! If by doing this our school year and teachers can remove stress and tension from their to-do list, should using online learning be the right way to go?

As of right now, the Oshkosh Area School District’s website confirms that they do not plan on making snow days virtual. However, the concept has been a debate throughout this winter. It all comes down to whether or not it’s worth going virtual for a day and potentially putting stress on students and teachers, or if we’d rather not let school bleed into summer and make learning more accessible on days with extreme weather conditions. Hopefully the weather warms up with spring around the corner and this topic will be off the table!

By Haniya Mecci and Jazmine Blustin

Oshkosh West Index Volume 118 Issue V

February 22. 2022

Freezing temperatures could be alleviated by firing up Chromebooks