Knox County Schools proposes changes to its calendar to make up for snow days

Silas Sloan, Knoxville News Sentinel
Updated ·2 min read

After using up all of its inclement weather days on January's winter storm, Knox County Schools administrators are finding places in the calendar in case they need to cancel classes again this year for storms or illness.

Superintendent Jon Rysewyk and Assistant Superintendent of Academics Keith Wilson told Knox County School Board members Jan. 25 that the district plans to bank two more inclement weather days and to make up for missed instructional time.

After having canceled classes Jan. 12 in anticipation of forecasted strong winds, Knox County Schools ended up canceling the next seven school days, from Jan. 16 through Jan. 24, while the region was covered in snow and ice.

Wilson said on Jan. 25 the plan for additional inclement weather days will need the board's approval in February, but presented this option:

  • Convert the planned Feb. 19 in-service day to a regular instructional day.

  • Convert the two remaining early release days to full days on a normal schedule.

Only two early release days remain, on Feb. 14 and March 20. The Jan. 24 early release day became a snow day.

Each early release day converts to one-third of a school day. However, because Jan. 24 was used as a snow day, Wilson said it doesn't count as an early release day.

Administrators want to avoid scheduling makeup days when teachers and families already expected to have longer periods of time off for travel, including spring break and the break around Easter.

The last day of school is May 23.

Knox County Schools had eight inclement weather days set aside for the 2023-24 school year year - and by the end of the winter storm's aftermath had used them all. The district used to build 10 days into the school year calendar for cancellations for weather or illness, but administrators restructured the school year when early release days were added to the calendar.

During a Jan. 23 press conference held amid piles of snow in the Powell High School parking lot, school officials noted the district had typically used an average of just three of those "bad weather days" a year for the past five or six years.

Silas Sloan is the growth and development reporter. Email silas.sloan@knoxnews.com. Twitter @silasloan. Instagram @knox.growth.

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Clearing of not just school property but roads around Knox County after the recent winter storms took long enough that Knox County Schools used up all its banked "snow days" for the year.
Clearing of not just school property but roads around Knox County after the recent winter storms took long enough that Knox County Schools used up all its banked "snow days" for the year.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Knox County Schools proposes calendar changes to make up for snow days