Weather

The closure of Minneapolis schools for two days this week raises the issue of whether students will go longer into June to offset the loss of instructional time. This year's calendar budgets two additional days in June to offset the possibility of snow days.  The district had no immediate answer Monday on whether it will add back in June the loss of Monday and Tuesday due to extreme cold. The extra days reserved on the district calendar to offset snow days fall on June 9 and 10. The last scheduled day of school for non-graduating students is June 6. Adding the days in June would shorten the break for students before the start of summer school to three school days rather than a full week. Making up the days in June would also further unbalance the two semesters of the school year, making the first semester 84 days and the second semester 92 days. The district has some wiggle room because this year's calendar provides 176 student days in class.  According to the district web … [Read more...] about Cold weather timeout could prolong Minneapolis school year

Minneapolis schools are launching a multi-pronged effort to help students regain time lost to extreme weather this school year before year-end tests and graduation arrive. Those efforts include Saturday and spring break classes for students ranging from those behind on credits for graduation to those worried about passing tests that will help their college standing to those at risk of not achieving proficiency on state tests. The district lost five days to cold-weather school cancelations last month, while more than 20 schools without air-conditioning lost an additional two days at the start of the year after classes were canceled for hot weather. The voluntary classes that are being developed will be led by teachers who will be paid extra for their work, Superintendent Bernadeia Johnson said in an interview Tuesday The district's spring break academy will feature four days of instruction and a day of yet-to-be-determined enrichment.  It's aimed at students identified by teachers … [Read more...] about Makeup classes offered for time lost to weather

Anoka-Hennepin schoolchildren won’t make up any of the district’s five cold-weather cancellations. “While educators regret the lost instructional time, they realize that changing the school calendar mid-year could place a hardship on families that have already scheduled vacations. In addition, the school calendar includes enough days beyond the state minimum so there is no requirement to make up days already lost,” according to a statement. Other districts across the state have scrambled to restore days. Some cut short long weekends around Presidents’ Day as well as using parent-teacher conference and staff-development days when students would have been off. Minneapolis Public Schools has taken the most novel approach. District officials are formulating a plan to hold voluntary class on Saturdays and during spring break. … [Read more...] about No make-up days for Anoka-Hennepin students after weather closings

The brutal cold and problems it inflicted on infrastructure — not increased freight traffic — have been the primary reasons for delays on Northstar trains, a BNSF spokesman said Thursday during a legislative hearing that state lawmakers called in hopes of getting answers as to why the commuter line has been besieged with excess disruptions over the past two months. “Weather has created havoc,” said Brian Sweeney, the railroad’s Regional Assistant Vice President Government Affairs, noting that the run of subzero temperatures has caused switches to freeze up several times and tracks to become brittle. “Crews can only work outside for 20 minutes at a time. That affects one train, and then there’s a ripple effect. We’ve seen that on Northstar. There are only so many sidings [to park trains], and all freight traffic has to get out of the way. Oil traffic is not a factor.” Sweeney said BNSF had no increase in the number of trains running … [Read more...] about BNSF: Blame the weather, not oil trains, for Northstar’s delays

It’s going down as the school year when Minneapolis can’t catch a break when it comes to the weather. The district announced Thursday that it’s cancelling field trips on Friday that were to serve as the capstone for a week of extra work over spring break by students striving to get ready for state tests. Classes will go on at the 13 participating schools. That’s right, the pending snowstorm is even cancelling part of spring break. One reason the district gave for holding its Spring Break Academy was bad weather earlier this school year.  That cost students days of preparation for upcoming state tests. All students have lost six days of schooling to cold or snowy weather. Students in schools that aren’t air-conditioned also lost two work days during record heat during the first week of school. This week, students participated in lessons that were intended to dovetail with trips to such venues as the Minnesota Zoo, Science Museum of Minnesota and the … [Read more...] about Bad weather strikes Mpls schools again