Skip to Content
Remaining Ad Time Ad - 00:00

Academy District 20 will add 10 minutes to school day to account for snow

D20Kids

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Wintertime in Colorado can be beautiful and fun, but it can also cause headaches for local school districts.

The school year can be impacted by school delays and closures and now one school district is looking for alternate ways to ensure they meet the required student-teacher contact hours.

It's only December, and Academy District 20 has already used four of their six days that are built-in for snow.

Allison Cortez with Academy D20 said, “The last time this happened was about five years ago and we prepare for it, we’ve done it before but every time we do it we learn from it and we do it a little differently.”

And because we typically experience our worst weather in March and April, D20 will now extend the school day by 10 minutes every day for the rest of the year.

Cortez said, “Our school days vary depending on what level you are at. Whether you're an elementary student or you're a high school student -- it depends on what time your day ends. So we are going to see that an extra 10 minutes hit anywhere between the 3:45 and 4:15 [p.m.] mark."

With this plan set in place, if there aren’t any additional closures, D20 will finish the school year earlier than the current calendar. However, if there are more closures, this will allow them to finish the year on time.

“We have these allotted days because we want to end on time we want to be respectful of our families. We know they make plans in the summer students do enrichment programs, they travel so it’s really important for us to get them out of school and on time before June,” said Cortez.

We spoke with parents who were dropping off their kids at Challenger Middle School; some questioned the idea but ultimately, they were fine with it.

Cathy Beck said, “10 minutes, that’s alright. I’d rather it be at the end of the day than the beginning.”

While another parent, Chasen Booher said, “We haven’t even used the snow days yet. So I know it’s being proactive but why we are just jumping on this already?”

As for bus schedules and after school activities, they will be adjusted to meet this updated schedule.

This schedule will go into effect on January 8, when the students get back from Christmas break.

Article Topic Follows: Colorado Springs

Jump to comments ↓

Author Profile Photo

Kolby Crossley

BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION

KRDO NewsChannel 13 is committed to providing a forum for civil and constructive conversation.

Please keep your comments respectful and relevant. You can review our Community Guidelines by clicking here

If you would like to share a story idea, please submit it here.

Skip to content