The Clinton County School District was approved last year (2015-16 year) to use a new state program known as the Non-Traditional Instruction Program, known also as Cyber School Days, that allows students to get credit for classroom work even when schools are not in session do to increment weather.

The school system will once again be participating in that program this school year, beginning in calendar year 2017, with a few tweaks in the implementation of the initiative compared to last year.

Superintendent Charlotte Nasief explained that although the Kentucky Department of Education allotted each approved district up to 10 non-instructional days if necessary, a local committee was formed to put a plan together as to how the new program would be implemented locally and chose to use six of the allotted days in Clinton County Schools.

Of the six days set aside for such in-home class days, only three had to be utilized after January of 2016.

The new initiative basically allows students to take classes at home, either on-line or via a packet instruction program in which they complete course work and turn it back into the schools to be counted as taking the classes and having it counted as an attendance day at school.

The program assists many districts across the state that are taking part, most of which now are, to cut back on having to extend the school year past their normal school calendars.

The changes in the program this year, which may or may not be needed depending on such things as the weather, flu outbreaks, or other unforeseen circumstances, is that the district will use all 10 days allotted by the state.

Also this year, the “non-traditional” school days would not kick in until after four days of school are missed. In other words, the first four days of school missed for any reason would still have to be made up, but any days after those first four would be declared non-instructional days with students taking course work at home, either online or via work packets, to be completed.

Superintendent Nasief explained that the primary reason for not beginning the non-traditional, or Cyber Days until after four days are missed is because the district has four days built into the school calendar that can be made up by using professional days and President’s Day as actual class days, if necessary. This means the district would have, if necessary, up to 14 days that can be used as make-up days, an important aspect if a large number of days would have to be missed.

Nasief also noted that last year one day of school was allowed to be made up because in lieu of cancelling classes, school began on a two-hour delay, saving the district a full day of required instructional time.

On January 4, students will be given out work folders, with each having 10 days of work assignments to complete, one for each day through 10 if needed.

“We have to offer work folders for work to be done at home because there is a sizeable number of students who do not have internet access at home,” the superintendent noted. She added that parents should be aware that their child would be bringing home the folder-packets with the assignments to be completed and turned back into the school for grading.

Last year, the school board, in February, modified the non-traditional days to add the other four days, from six to 10 days, but the extra days wound up not being needed.

The superintendent also addressed the issue some parents and others have about “why school is called off” even on days in which, weather-wise, it may seem unwarranted at the time.

Nasief said that making the decision whether or not to cancel classes due to weather is one of the most difficult tasks she has as superintendent, noting that although at times when weather forecasts and early morning inclement weather turns out not to be as bad as thought or predicted, “I have to always err on the side of safety.”

“We cannot risk the safety of not only students, but school staff and bus drivers as well,” she added, again stressing that the safety issue is always first and foremost in her decisions to cancel classes.

Nasief also encouraged students and parents who have any questions about a student’s course work, either online or through the packet work, to contact either the school or the child’s teacher, the latter of which can usually always be contacted online when help is needed. “We encourage students and parents who have questions about non-traditional school days or course work to communicate with their school and/or teachers,” she said.

In putting together the Non-Traditional Instruction Program Plan for 2016-17, the committee, back in May, put together its changes to be forwarded to the Department of Education pertaining to this year’s plan, including improvements, food service staff, and partners.

Under improved, the question, “Based on experiences implementing a Non-Traditional Instruction Plan for 2015-16, what will the district change in order to improve the program for all stakeholders?

The returning application reads, “The district had a very positive experience implementing the Non-Traditional Instructional Plan in 2015-16. Parents, students, and administrators conveyed a belief in the benefit of the program and desire to continue. As with most new efforts, however, there are certainly pieces of the program that can be improved.

The district plans to expand its instructional efficiency by utilizing a more personalized approach to learning, rather than applying the same assignment to large numbers of students. For example, Study Island now has an Individual Learning Path for each child correlated to his/her MAP score. School principals will also take a more active role in monitoring the type of instruction occurring during NTI days, so that there will be increased consistency in the level of rigor expected by individual teachers.

The district is also cognizant of the modifications that must be made for special education students. First, discussion of NTI days must be documented in ARC minute notes. Parents will be encouraged to be the providers of specially-designed instruction to the extent possible. The district will also take appropriate steps to ensure that special education students will receive all needed assistance in completing assignments once they return to school.

Many more teachers are now training in the use of Google classroom, so that application will be used much more widely during the 2016-2017 non-traditional instructional days. Overall, online learning and computer-based applications will form a much larger part of NTI during the upcoming school year.”

Under food staff, the following question was addressed. “In regards to the district’s plan for classified school staff on NTI days, will food service staff be working on these days?

The answer, “Depending upon the weather, some classified staff, such as office staff, may be working at school during an NTI day. For other classified staff, however, such as food service personnel and bus drivers, there will be no work to perform…classified personnel will be required to make up the appropriate number of days and hours at a later time during the school year…”

And the final question in the renewal application was, “Does your district have any reciprocal agreement with other districts?

The response is, “The district does not contain any private schools, only home schools. The school scheduled does, however, operate in conjunction with KERA Preschool and the Clinton County Area Technology Center. Both the preschool and ATC have been involved in the discussions regarding the use of NTI days. Each of these entities participates in sending home assignments for students to complete during NTI days, so no instruction is missed at either institution. Teachers at the preschool and ATC, just like other teachers in the district, are available to help students during NTI days, either in person, by telephone, or by email.