Feb 25, 2014 By Diana Lasko dlasko@heraldstandard.Com 6 min read

As winter wears on and patience wears thin, school administrators have attracted a response from the state Department of Education (PDE) to extend standardized testing dates due much in part to school closings during the brutal winter of 2014.

With multiple weather-related school closings and delays this winter, a lack of instruction and test preparation was such a concern in the Southeastern Greene School District that the board directed its superintendent to request PDE push back the start of Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) testing for students.

“Anytime there is a disruption in the schedule, it does disrupt the education process,” said district Superintendent Bill Henderson.

Southeastern Greene, Uniontown Area and Albert Gallatin Area have canceled school 12 times due to inclement weather so far this winter.

“We cancel school for safety, and that is our first priority. But it puts us at an academic disadvantage because we are delaying (a student’s) potential for academic growth,” said Carl Bezjak, superintendent, Albert Gallatin Area School District.

Missed classes due to weather-related cancellations required school officials to delay the end of the second nine-week grading period as well as to issue report cards late for that same period.

Bezjak said his district pushed back the end of the second nine-week grading period by nine days in order to make up instruction missed during recent weeks. The loss of consecutive days due to snow, ice and dangerously frigid temperatures can hurt academics.

“Every day counts with teacher and student in classroom engaged in learning. That’s where the rubber meets the road,” said Bezjak.

School officials said districts must find ways to make up instruction time in order to keep students on track for standardized tests, like the PSSA tests, which begin for elementary and middle school students on March 17.

“I would graciously accept (the state) pushing back PSSAs. If my students are out five more days due to weather, the results are not a fair comparison to a district in another part of the state which did not have to cancel classes,” Bezjak said.

Although PDE has not pushed the starting dates of the PSSA testing back to later in the academic year, the state is offering some assistance to school districts with the recent announcement that it will extend the dates that the PSSA tests can be administered.

Tim Eller, deputy director of communications for PDE, said the PSSA Math/Reading testing period was March 17-28. This is being changed to March 17 to April 4. The PSSA Math/Reading make-up period will be April 7-11. Eller said the PSSA Writing testing period was March 31 through April 4, but will be pushed back to March 31 through April 11. The PSSA Writing make-up period will be April 14-25.

The testing periods for the PSSA Science and the Keystone Exams will not change. The PSSA Science period remains April 28-May 9, and the Keystone Exams period remains May 12-23, according to Eller.

“Anything helps that will at least account for some additional instruction,” said Henderson, who feels the tests should always be administered near the end of the school year for the benefit of the students.

Most area school districts have used all of their “built-in” snow days and will have to add days to the end of the school year in order to maintain the 180-day mandatory schedule for students to meet academic and instructional needs.

“We are behind the 8-ball. Normally, if we can get through mid-March, we are okay, but we are far from that,” said Jesse Wallace, superintendent, Laurel Highlands School District, which has lost 10 days worth of instruction due to inclement weather.

To make matters worse, most districts in the region have also depleted their “built-in” or “potential” make-up days, including Presidents Day (Feb. 17) and spring recess days (April 18-21).

“Right now, we’re just in a holding pattern to see what happens over the next few weeks,” said Wallace.

Districts, especially those with schools in mountainous or remote areas, often have to delay and cancel classes because conditions are far worse than those in smaller, more contained districts.

Bezjak noted the 144 square miles of mostly rural terrain in Albert Gallatin can be treacherous, and this winter has been especially brutal for districts in southern Fayette County.

Administrators must take every precaution and weigh risk for students and staff when making the call for delay or cancellation.

“We can’t have children waiting for buses in minus-10 and below wind chills and risk buses sliding all over the roads due to snow and ice,” said Wallace.

Superintendents meet with transportation directors and confer with state Department of Transportation, area township supervisors and one another prior to making the decision.

“Sometimes it begins at 3:30 in the morning, and sometimes we are out on the road together. We try to make consistent decisions and we stay attentive to safety,” said Bezjak.

School delays also cause a fair amount of instructional headaches because, although districts use a modified schedule and students aren’t missing the same classes all the time, instruction time is still missed and students must get caught up.

“Five two-hour delays are the equivalent of another day of missed instruction,” said Bezjak.

Districts, now out of snow days, are modifying school calendars to add on days to the end of the school year, and Eller noted his department does not have the authority to forgive missed days for school districts.

“In order for the 180-day requirement to be waived, the General Assembly would need to pass a law that provides this relief. (PDE) does not have the authority to reduce the 180-day requirement,” Eller wrote in an email.

Laurel Highlands will wait until the end of February to reassess the calendar, while Uniontown and Albert Gallatin have tentatively set the last day of instruction and graduation for June 11.

Henderson said students in his district will now remain in class until June 6, with graduation set for the same day.

“Beyond that, if we have anymore cancellations, we would have to discuss further options,” said Henderson.

Making certain seniors meet the rigors of state graduation standards is also a concern for school districts. Last year, in the Albert Gallatin Area schools, Saturday instruction for seniors only was approved by the board to make certain students would graduate on time, according to Bezjak.

Forgiving or waiving days in his district is not something Bezjak sees as beneficial.

“Teachers and children engaging one another in the classroom and keeping the educational process moving is a more powerful component,” said Bezjak.