Schools across Northern Michigan that were impacted by March’s historic ice storm won’t have to extend school further into June due to missed days. On Monday, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer approved House Bill 4345, allowing schools to be exempted up to 15 missed days.
However, some teachers are worried about how accurate state testing scores will be due to the disruption caused by the storm. State testing, like the SAT and other evaluations, wasn’t exempted and students were expected to complete those tests.
“The state was able to give us a couple of weeks of flexibility, but you're taking a traumatic event and immediately assessing students afterward,” said Katy Xenakis-Makowski, Superintendent of Johannesburg-Lewiston Area Schools. “I don't think you're going to get an accurate picture of learning.”
According to state law, school districts must meet a minimum of 1,098 hours and 180 days of student instruction each school year. Many schools were unable to meet those requirements due to widespread outages.
In a press release, Whitmer stated that many families are still recovering from the storm.
“Many Michigan families are still reeling from the effects of the ice storms that devastated northern Michigan earlier this year,” Whitmer said in the press release. “I’ve been committed to supporting recovery efforts, protecting Michigan families from additional disruptions to their daily routines. That’s why I’m proud to sign this bill that will remove unnecessary penalties and obstacles for students and schools who are just trying to get by.”
Even for schools that didn’t miss several days, there is still a concern for this year’s testing scores. Superintendent of Alcona Community Schools Daniel O’Connor stated his district only missed one day, but there were many students who didn’t have power for days.
He said there was still an immense amount of pressure on kids.
“You had families and students at home trying to work on generators, if they were fortunate enough to have one, and then be expected to come to school and perform on these high-stakes, once-a-year assessments,” O’Connor said.
Despite concerns about test scores, school officials say the bill will help move past this school year. Atlanta Community Schools Principal Tawny Hisscock said that teaching classes in the summer is a challenge.
“When you add days to the end of the year like that, they're very unproductive,” she said. “We were very glad that they passed the bill and that they are forgiving those days.”
O’Connor said the same.
“We’re just happy to be able to move forward,” he said.
March’s ice storm caused significant damage across Michigan. Miles of wiring and over 1,000 poles had to be replaced.
In May, Whitmer formally requested $137 million in funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help families, businesses and local governments recover from the storm.
This story was produced by the Michigan News Group Internship Program, a collaboration between WCMU Public Media and local newspapers in central and northern Michigan. The program’s mission is to train the next generation of journalists and combat the rise of rural news deserts.
