On Feb. 1, 2025, St. Charles School District 303 officially announced that if D303 school buildings need to be closed due to inclement weather or other emergencies, students and staff will participate in a newly administered e-learning plan.

In previous years, D303 stuck to the idea that if an emergency day is decided on, students and staff would not participate in e-learning or a delayed start but instead would take the full day off and make up the day at the end of the school year. This ensured that while students and staff had the day off to ensure their safety, the state attendance requirements were still met.

However, this plan recently sparked concerns surrounding the loss of instructional time and learning continuity. 

With these concerns, the school board decided to implement a new three-year e-learning plan that addresses the loss of instructional time, yet at the same time promotes healthy learning skills outside of school walls. The school board stated that the new plan provides uninterrupted learning for all students, allows educators to advance learning more efficiently and promotes flexible learning strategies. It was also noted that with this, the school year will be much more predictable and constant compared to the past.

With the new policy, students can expect a total of five hours’ worth of schoolwork along with designated attendance times determined by their teachers. To opt out of an e-learning day, a call must be made to the attendance office to confirm the student’s absence. It was also noted that students can complete their work throughout the day and can contact teachers for academic help through Schoology, Google Meet or by email.

For more information about the emergency day policy, check the D303 website for frequent updates and announcements.