Will the School Year Be Extended?

Two Kalamazoo area districts are already approaching the limit on number of "snow days".

As a huge storm approaches New York City and the East Coast, concerns over Winter weather in Southwest Michigan may extend the school year for Three Rivers and Constantine.

You may have already forgotten the early November storm we had this year, but I bet you remember Christmas break being stretched into January for many students. All of these days add up.

The State of Michigan requires Michigan Public Schools to meet a minimum of 1098 hours of pupil instruction each school year. Among those 1098 hours, 6 days for reasons out of the schools control can be counted toward the required 1098 hours. This could be due to due to severe storms, fires, heath conditions, infrastructure issues, or snow.

According to MLive, Constantine and Three Rivers are both at 5 days so far, approaching the maximum number of days allowed.  This is not true everywhere, as each district makes its own calendar and (obviously) its own decisions on when to delay or cancel classes.

However, a district is in danger of losing State funding if they do not meet the requirement. Bottom line: more snow days could equal more school late in the year for Kalamazoo area kids.