Last week, Wheeler School sophomore Indira Peckham spent multiple days building snowmen, sledding and walking around the snowy city streets instead of going to school.
Instead of being “worried about schoolwork,” Peckham and her neighbors “explored the nearly deserted Providence streets,” Peckham wrote in a message to The Herald. “We were having a lot of fun.”
While Peckham enjoyed her snow days, she is now concerned she will not be as prepared for her upcoming exams. “I certainly feel behind in some classes,” she wrote.
During last week’s historic 37.9-inch blizzard, Providence schools were forced to change their teaching format due to safety concerns and the city-issued travel ban.
At The Wheeler School, a private school in Providence, students had virtual learning Monday through Thursday before returning to in-person classes on Friday. Wheeler School students already missed a week of previously scheduled school due to the Dec. 13 mass shooting at Brown.
In the Providence Public School District, school was entirely canceled on Feb. 23 and 24. For the next three days, the district moved to virtual instruction.
“Obviously, we want to make sure our students are learning in school as much as possible,” wrote PPSD spokesperson Alex Torres-Perez in an email to The Herald. “Even though learning plans may be delayed due to no school on snow days, safety is and will always be a priority.”
Torres-Perez added that the district also provided Chromebooks to students in advance of the storm.
Wheeler School student Maddie Garcia wrote that virtual learning has posed various difficulties. Many of her instructors posted asynchronous assignments instead of hosting virtual classes. While teachers are available virtually, Garcia wrote that she found it more challenging to receive support on assignments she did not understand.
“I think my learning has fallen a bit behind due to virtual days and not being able to have classes in person,” Garcia wrote in a message to The Herald. “I think it will not be extremely hard to catch up with work, but I think it has definitely affected our ability to comprehend material that we were supposed to learn.”
The Wheeler School did not respond to The Herald’s request for comment.
“In-person learning is more effective than virtual learning, but PPSD educators continue to provide instruction to the best of their ability,” Torres-Perez wrote. “We are concerned with the impact of learning loss during the absence from school but, as mentioned, educators are working to ensure students are still learning.”
Although snow days have impacted learning, the time off did give students the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors. “Snow days are a nice way for students to take a break and enjoy the snow outside,” Garcia wrote, noting that she still wishes there were no virtual instruction days and instead only traditional snow days.
“However, I think this has been an especially hard winter for New England,” she added.
Providence Career and Technical Academy student Kingsley Dye wrote to The Herald that while he understands that having full snow days can impede curriculum pacing, he believes hosting virtual classes is not wholly beneficial.
While “virtual learning is an alternative to in-person learning (that) allows instruction to continue on snow days, I feel these accommodations seem to impair student quality of learning,” Dye wrote.
Nate Barkow is a senior staff writer for the Youth and Education beat and a co-chief of The Herald's social media team. He is from New York City and plans on concentrating in International and Public Affairs and Education Studies. In his free time, he loves trying new restaurants and watching Survivor.
