JENKS, Okla. — Many school districts canceled classes or moved to distance learning on Monday due to winter weather.
Jenks Public Schools is one of the schools who made the decision Monday afternoon to remain closed Tuesday.
Rob Loeber with the district says to make decisions like this they consider road conditions, temperatures, and what weather is on the way. These considerations are the same for many other districts including Sand Springs, Broken Arrow, Claremore, Tulsa, Union, Bixby, Owasso, McAlester just to name a few.
First, it all starts with some staff members driving the roads around the district and looking at known problem areas like for Jenks that is 33rd West Ave. along with the roads surrounding East Elementary and East Intermediate.
“Safety is our top priority and we don’t want to load kids on busses or have people attempt to come to school and drop their kids off if it's not absolutely safe,” Loeber said.
Loeber also told 2 News when it comes to deciding distance learning versus a traditional snow day — they have to take into consideration the challenges of making a quick transition to virtual learning as some students and teachers may not have materials necessary for distance learning when weather issues arise.
This means for Jenks distance learning is not the first option when an occasional weather day is necessary.
For Sand Springs Public School, Superintendent Sherry Durkee says transportation is just one factor they look at when making the decision to close schools.
“We want the kids to be in school and so it's not just about the treacherous roads. It's also about getting kids here to get instructions, to have warmth and to have food and so there's other considerations,” she said.
Plus, Durkee says they consider the walking conditions on property. She said her district takes a little bit of a wait and see approach making decisions the morning of school. She says her district has seven built in snow days to account for situation like this week.
For a full list of closures and school changes,click here.
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