Sign up for Chalkbeat Tennessee’s free newsletter to keep up with statewide education policy and Memphis-Shelby County Schools.
Memphis schools will be closed again Thursday despite the district officially running out of built-in snow days for the year.
Students in Memphis-Shelby County Schools haven’t seen their classrooms since Friday, Jan. 23 on the eve of a weekend winter storm. The district has been shut down since then due to unsafe road conditions caused by persistent ice.
“While conditions are improving, many areas, including residential streets, sidewalks, and bus stops remain impassable,” MSCS officials wrote in a social media post Wednesday afternoon.
The district budgeted eight built-in days for inclement weather closures this year. MSCS used all of them as of Wednesday. District leaders did not announce any plans for virtual learning, which means students could face an extended school year or shortened breaks to make up missed class time.
District officials have not announced how Thursday’s school time will be made up.
MSCS could absorb pre-planned professional development days or apply for an emergency waiver from the Tennessee Department of Education. Other districts, including Nashville, have said they will use the upcoming President’s Day holiday to make up a day.
Ryhanna Graham, a junior at Whitehaven High School, said the district made the right call to cancel Thursday – and she thinks schools will close on Friday, too.
“The roads have been bad, and I live on a hill, so I wouldn’t be able to get to school safely,” she said. “And a lot of people don’t even have cars. Walking on the ice, something bad could happen.”
Graham said she’s been completing online assignments for her dual enrollment classes throughout the break. But she hasn’t been able to go into work at Tropical Smoothie Cafe, which is taking a toll on her bank account.
“And I take AP classes, where our tests are already scheduled,” she said. “So when we get back, we really have to put pen to paper.”
Tennessee school districts are able to use up to five virtual learning days per semester due to weather-related closures. Graham said she doesn’t like that option because online classes can leave some students behind.
But Angell Lawson, the parent of a freshman at Power Center Academy, said the district should transition to virtual learning after a couple days off.
“Parents are going to be home as well, and these days have to be made up,” Lawson said in an interview. “I feel like the transition back will be almost like starting over at the beginning of the school year. They’ll have to get acclimated again.”
But Lawson recognizes that online classes come with logistical barriers, like internet and computer access. And it doesn’t solve the problem of families who rely on school for child care and meals.
Graham, the MSCS junior, said she hopes the district will take away scheduled spring break days instead of pushing the school year into the summer.
Bri Hatch covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Bri at bhatch@chalkbeat.org.
