Since the recent weather related cancellations, school districts have found several ways of adapting their schedules to compensate for lost time. In Perry Township, both cancelled days will be made up on Jan. 19 and Feb. 16, but further schedule changes have several varying factors.

“If we were to cancel one day of school before before Feb. 16 that day would be made up May 29. If we miss two days before Feb. 16, those days will be made up during the spring intersession,” Superintendent of Perry Township schools Dr. Thomas Little said.

Though SHS decided to make up all of the cancelled school days over the holidays, and possibly at the end of the year, 29 other school districts outside of Perry Township, such as the Northwestern school district, have decided to continue the school day.

In these particular school districts, they compensate for the time lost during the school days that have been cancelled due to inclimate weather through an online program called e-learning. E-learning allows students to start assignments online then either continue to work on them online or offline if it is needed.

The students who do not have internet access do not receive penalties for being unable to turn in their e-learning assignments on time. In the Northwestern school district, many of the people within the community have been supportive of the newest implementation according to superintendent Mr. Shane Robbins.

“The feedback that we received from students, teachers and parents has been overwhelmingly supportive,” Robbins said in an interview for the Indy Star. “We’re trying to provide opportunities for these kids. We know there’s going to be some pitfalls, but we’re prepared to adjust.”

Since e-learning is a new concept for Perry Township’s education system, the possibility of online learning is currently being observed and discussed between the administrators within the township according to Little. This change in scheduling would prevent the schools within the township from having to make up for lost time, but there are obstacles such as not all students have internet access while at home. Little says the predominant variables that go into the decision are making sure that all of the students in the township have a computer at home and being able to determine how long students would be on the internet everyday.

“For a day or two, yes, I could see it working. It’s a natural progression,” Little said.

The integration of technology into the education of SHS is a relatively new concept, though districts like Perry Township are still considering the possibility of their schools using e-learning during upcoming canceled school days.