The “non-traditional instruction program,” or what has become known more commonly as “cyber school” or cyber snow days got its first try-out last Wednesday, January 27 following the first major snow storm that passed through the region the week before.

Although new to everyone involved, including school faculty, students and parents, the day that was used as a “school day” even though students weren’t in class was called a success by local school officials, including Superintendent of Schools Charlotte Bernard.

“We’ve had all positive comments,” Bernard told the Clinton County News early this week, after school principals and staff had time to assess the first day of using a cyber-class day, one of three built into the district’s approved plan.

The program allows for students to keep up with homework assignments, either through the internet or take home work folder assignments on days in which school can’t be held due to weather, illness, etc.

By using those days, they count as regular instructional days and do not have to be added onto the end of the school year.

Superintendent Bernard said she requested each school principal get input from students, faculty and parents about the cyber day that was taken last week and noted that all the feedback, including from parents, had been positive.

The Kentucky Department of Education initiated the pilot program in 10 school districts for the 2014-15 school year and reaction to the new program was so good that many other districts in the state, including Clinton applied for participation and was approved.

The state allows up to 10 days to be used as cyber days in each district, but a committee was formed locally when putting together criteria for a local program and they opted to include three cyber days in this year’s plan since was it still new and being tested. She said the district may increase that number of days next school year.

The district also opted to not use the first cyber day until the sixth day of school would be missed. School was called off three days week before last and Monday and Tuesday of last week, with last Wednesday being used as the first cyber day and students completing their first cyber day folder to fulfill the course work requirements.

Bernard noted that when the committee put together the plan as to how the educational process using cyber days would be carried out, they took into consideration that not all students in the district had access to computers or the internet at home, thus developed the working packets for each student to take home, keep and complete for each cyber day used.

Last Thursday, January 28, school returned to session but on a two-hour delay with bus drivers using their own discretion about traveling on roadways. Bernard said that on that delayed day, district attendance was at 91 percent, which she said was very pleasing considering the circumstances. The district was able to get three out of the five instructional days completed last week.

One major goal of the cyber school, or non-traditional school program, is to keep districts from having to extend the school year far beyond regular scheduled closings in spring, which became a problem last year due to the extraordinary number of days missed due to ongoing severe weather.

Bernard said the state, in cases where a large of amount of districts have to miss several days, it is allowed to used “instructional year minutes” to help make up days as well. Clinton County schools go an average of eight minutes per day longer than mandatory and have about two school days gathered back to use as well.

Based on the current one day used, the district still has two more cyber days it can use for actual instruction and the superintendent is hoping it won’t have to be used, but remembers the month of February last year when most school days were missed locally because of inclement weather.

Bernard also noted the school calendar can be amended, as needed, throughout the course of a school year and said that she was going to recommend to the school board at its work session this week that President’s Day in February be used as an instructional day, saving yet another possible day at the end of the school year.

Although the superintendent did not know any actual percentages at this point of how many students in each school or the district got their work course folders completed, she feels it will be a high percent and based on the input and feedback from the first day tested last week, the new program will be a success.

Cyber school officially kicked off the first of the year, following information made available to students, parents, and the public, and teachers at each school were available on the cyber days to assist students with any questions or problems they may have had.

Teacher web pages posted virtual cyber snow day assignments for students with internet accessibility. The work folder contained detailed assignments for each day.