bgilchrist001 wrote:One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet, and perhaps is overlooked is that when school buses are cancelled across the city the attendance drops significantly.
Now, how does this relate to teacher sick days? When you have that many away, you can't teach new work because you are going to have to re-teach it again when everyone is in class. So the day becomes review or catch up. And what happens if there isn' t any relevant review or catch up.
Maybe School Divisions need to look at attendance levels when buses are cancelled and see if it makes sense to have the schools open?
I see what you are saying. But I also wonder if schools actually closed, that would lead to absenteeism everywhere that employs parents - that can affect a lot of different industries. Some essential services, for example.
Many rural schools do close in severe weather. But inside the city, you still have enough people that can get to school to justify keeping it open. Maybe teachers can work on finding ways to make those days productive so that it's not a waste but doesn't teach essential material that will have to be repeated.
If student absenteeism is a reason for teachers not to show up at work in a blizzard, there should a be a strategy school-wide that will provide for the students that want (and are entitled to) that time, but doesn't use paid "sick" time. Maybe they can have a plan in place to consolidate the classes in some way to allow teachers from out of town a bit of leeway in times such as this - I'm just throwing out ideas.
