The El Dorado School Board will consider how it will make up two school days at a meeting scheduled Monday.
Because roads in the district were “icy and not safe for travel,” classes weren’t in session Jan. 16-17. State standards require that public school districts hold school for 178 days and state law requires them to “include five make-up days in their eSchoolPlus school calendar,” according to a memo by Johnny Key, commissioner of the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE).
While other school districts have makeup days tacked on to the end of their calendars, the calendar available on the El Dorado School District’s website doesn’t specify which five days are designated for makeup. However, there are provisions within the state that would allow the district to be open on scheduled holidays like Memorial Day upon approval by the ADE.
Instruction days that were delayed due to inclement weather “shall be counted as a credited school day, with no requirement for additional days to be added to the school calendar,” according to Arkansas Code Annotated 6-10-126.
Last week, the district announced that it was approved for up to five Alternative Methods of Instruction (AMI) days by the state education department.
Students received AMI assignment packets, which contain materials “relevant to the current nine weeks’ curriculum and is structured so that the work can be completed individually by the student.”
Packets, which were sent home with students Wednesday, can be used in place of in-class instruction if school’s canceled because of inclement weather at a later date. AMI can’t be used to make up the days missed previously.
The board will also consider bids for technology wiring, the district’s 2018-2019 calendar and 2019-2020 proposed budget of expenditures. Board members will reconvene at 6 p.m. Monday in the administrative office boardroom.
Brittany Williams may be reached at 870-862-6611 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter and like her on Facebook @BWilliamsEDNT for updates on Union County school news.