The 2024-2025 winter season brought significant snowfall to the Kansas City area, leading to numerous school closures.
To adhere to state-mandated instructional hours, several school districts have revised their calendars, extending school days and adding makeup day.
Kansas School Districts’ Strategies
Blue Valley School District (BVSD)
BVSD utilized eight snow days, exceeding the five allocated in the academic calendar. To recover the lost instructional time, the district implemented the following changes:
- February 28: Converted from a professional development day to a full school day.
- March 4, 6, 11, and 13: High school classes began at regular times, eliminating late-start schedules.
- April 25: Scheduled as a regular school day, replacing a planned professional learning day.
Gardner Edgerton School District
After seven snow days, resulting in elementary students being 7 hours and 18 minutes short, and high school students 4 hours and 42 minutes short, the district adjusted as follows:
- May 9: Full day for K-4 students, replacing an early release.
- May 21-23: High school students attended full days, with May 23 being a half-day for elementary and middle schools.
Kansas City Kansas Public Schools (KCKPS)
KCKPS allocated May 27-30 as potential makeup days for inclement weather, ensuring compliance with state requirements.
Lawrence School District
Facing nine canceled days, the district adopted the following measures:
- March 24 Onward: Extended Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays by 15 minutes; Wednesdays by 25 minutes.
- April 21: Regular school day.
- May 22: Full day instead of a half-day.
- May 23: Early dismissal; specific times to be announced.
Olathe School District
To meet the state’s 1,116-hour requirement, Olathe implemented:
- March 24 Onward: Extended school days by 5-10 minutes, varying by educational level.
- March 24, April 24, and April 25: Converted from professional development days to full student attendance days.
- Post-Spring Break: Eliminated Thursday late-starts.
Piper School District
Piper adjusted its schedule by:
- March 25 Onward: Eliminating late-start days post-spring break.
- March 28: Regular school day instead of a scheduled break.
- High School: Added 10 minutes to both the start and end of the day, setting new hours from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. through year-end.
Missouri School Districts’ Approaches
Blue Springs School District
After utilizing 12 inclement weather days, with one forgiven by the state, Blue Springs plans include:
- April 8: Regular school day.
- April 18: Half-day instead of a full day off.
- May 27-29: Full days, with May 29 being a half-day.
Raymore-Peculiar School District
Ray-Pec adjusted its calendar by adding a makeup day on April 18, following inclement weather closures.
Kansas City-area school districts have proactively modified their academic calendars to compensate for the instructional time lost due to snow closures.
These adjustments aim to ensure that students meet the state-required instructional hours, minimizing disruptions to academic progress and family schedules.