Wake schools eyes fresh, non-live remote learning plan after busy winter, exhausted makeup days

The Wake County Public School System hopes to conduct asynchronous remote learning next school year, via Canvas or paper packets, if bad weather closes schools.

The Wake County Board of Education heard an updated remote learning plan Tuesday after this year’s storms resulted in Saturday schools at some year-round schools. A new plan is required by the state.

"We're not talking about live teacher, virtual bells ringing ... that's not what this is," said Drew Cook, Wake assistant superintendent for academics. "What it's intended to do is literally extend the learning."

Board Member Tyler Swanson said he was glad the plan wouldn't include live instruction, "so families don't have to relive what happened five years ago" during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The draft plan is essentially the same as the one the district is already using, except that it outlines the current technologies the district is using.

School leaders encountered issues this year, resulting in two instances of Saturday school, because the district was not prepared to conduct remote learning, even though it had a plan submitted to the state explaining how they would do it.

Now, Wake leaders are asking other school system leaders who have done remote learning on snow days what worked and what didn't, Superintendent Robert Taylor said. Taylor hopes to use remote learning days when bad weather is forecasted well in advance, allowing staff to prepare remote plans, rather than deciding only the night before without warning to staff.

The school board discussed the plan during its student achievement committee Tuesday. Board members said earlier this year they wanted to ensure remote learning was possible and to avoid scheduling Saturday school or canceling vacation days.

The draft plan outlines how the district would conduct remote learning when poor weather or another unforeseen circumstance closed school without any banked days or teacher workdays left. Rules implementing school board policy require the district to hold off on using remote learning until those banked days and workdays have been used up.

State law limits the number of remote learning days to five in a single school year.

A fresh “remote instruction plan” is required by state law every school year, and the school system must send one to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction by June 30.