On Friday, Jan. 23, St. Charles District 303 had its first-ever e-learning day since the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to severe winter weather conditions, students and staff were directed to the e-learning procedure, and all classes were transitioned to online learning.
Within D303, in the event of hazardous amounts of snow, extreme cold or other emergencies that pose safety concerns to students and staff, the superintendent, Dr. Paul Gordon, may choose to implement an e-learning day for all students. While there isn’t a specific temperature that automatically triggers the closings of D303 buildings, the decision is primarily based on how the weather impacts travel for buses and students who walk to school. With wind chills reaching up to -35 degrees, the weather was deemed unsafe, and students switched gears to online learning.
The D303 e-learning procedure consists of different plans depending on the grade levels of the students. Early childhood and elementary school students were sent home with an e-learning packet at the beginning of the school year that they should use in case of online learning. The packet consists of lesson plans and activities for students to complete as directed by their teachers. For attendance, teachers provided a Google form for students to fill out, which was expected to be submitted at the start of the school day.
For middle school and high school students, the plan was more independent. Students were able to access the e-learning folder on Schoology, which held all of the information about their assignments and activities directed by their teachers. Assignments for middle school and high school students consisted of individual assignments assigned prior to the e-learning day. Older students were also provided with a Google form to fill out to document their attendance, and it was expected that all of the attendance forms for each class were filled out before the end of the school day.
An East student, who chose to remain anonymous, voiced, “The e-learning day was a really good way to end the week. It was nice being able to sit at home, while also having flexibility on which classwork I was able to complete first. Also, the assignments in general took less time for me to complete than they would’ve if I were in school and gave me extra time to do things other than assignments all day.”
While e-learning days aren’t common for D303, the procedures implemented by the school board gave students and staff the guidance they needed to have a successful day of learning outside of the classroom.
