Pascack Valley students will make up snow day with virtual school

The term “snow day” is tantamount to bliss for most schoolchildren,  and perhaps teachers, too, but as the powder and school closings pile up, districts are left scrambling to make up lost time.

The Pascack Valley Regional High School District has come up with a solution to meet the 180-day state requirement - it will hold a virtual school day.

Rather than cut spring break short or add days to the end of the school year, as some have done, the district's virtual school day is scheduled to be held during spring break. Students can log in from any location, school officials said.

“This solution is a creative and productive way to address the scheduling challenge this stormy season has created,” Superintendent Erik Gundersen wrote in a letter to parents and students Wednesday, as another snowstorm closed schools in North Jersey.

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This will not be the district’s first time having a virtual day. In 2016, the district, which serves more than 2,000 students from Hillsdale, River Vale, Woodcliff Lake and Montvale in two high schools, experimented by holding two virtual days in a row – officials declared the trial a success.

In order for the day to comply with state mandates, school facilities must be open and teachers will be in the schools. Students can opt to come in that day, but history shows the majority log-on to their laptops for virtual lessons by teachers being broadcast from their classrooms.

Northern Valley Regional High School District also experimented with learning remotely, hosting a virtual day in 2016 with mixed results.

“Given technology is woven into the fabric of our everyday instruction and based on our previous experience, we are fully prepared to implement these virtual days for our students,” Gundersen said.

The superintendent said the district feels virtual days provide a valuable experience to students, who will most likely take online courses in college, or work from home in the future – a new norm for many companies and industries, he said.

The district currently has one day to make up. The virtual day is set for Friday, April 6. If more closings are needed, the districts will have additional virtual days that week, Gundersen said.

Email: nolan@northjersey.com