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Snow Leads R-II To Virtual Instruction Days

FROM STAFF REPORTS

Harsher than usual winter weather has thrown a proverbial monkey wrench into Ste. Genevieve R-II Schools’ plans to resume four days a week of live classes.

The district had barely kicked off the four-day-a week live schedule, when winter snow and ice began hitting.

Through the weekend, the district had already used five snow days, the district’s plan is to utilize its AMI Virtual Instruction Plan on the next inclement weather day where students would stay home from school.

While the four days live schedule will resume as soon as weather permits, students and faculty will no longer have the option of staying in bed and enjoying a snow day, should more inclement weather hit.

Now they will be required to be up and online for virtual classes.

The state of Missouri has a new rule, starting with the 2020-2021 school year, which states that school districts may use alternative methods of instruction, or AMI, instead of calling a snow day.

Schools are allowed to utilize up to 36 hours of AMI virtual instruction, which would not be added to the end of the school year.

This is a different rule from AMI-X, which is the Missouri rule that allows us to use our hybrid schedule and to provide virtual instruction.

“We will use the same communication mediums as snow days,” the school website said. “We will send out a call, text message, push notification, website posting and social media posts.”

THE AMI SCHOOL DAY

All of students, both in-person and virtual, will have virtual instruction on an AMI day from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a 30-minute break for lunch.

Students should check their school email and/or online learning platform for their classes, such as GoogleClassroom or Seesaw, at 7:45 a.m. to see what teachers have planned/assigned for the day.

K-5 schedules vary by grade level and teacher. Parents should continue to use current communication methods and platforms during an AMI virtual instruction day to facilitate continued learning.

For grades 6-12, the schedule will be similar to the Wednesday Virtual Day Schedule.

During the 2020-2021 school year, the district may utilize 36 AMI hours, which is the maximum number allowed by the state of Missouri. This equates to approximately 5.5 school days in the R-II School District.

More details can be found at https://www.sgdragons.org/live-feed#1346349.

The R-II district and Valle Catholic Schools are both nearing the one-year anniversary of the suspending of live classes on March 18, 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic began to strike locally.