Saturday, December 25, 2010

MV experiments with E-Days


Mississinawa Valley Experiments with E-Days
By Dorothy Gilbert
Teen Scribe

With Darke County schools only being allowed three calamity days this year, Mississinawa Valley has decided to excel with the technological advancements and allow students two e-days.
An e-day would be when students miss a fourth school day, they are able to go online to the school's website and complete an online lesson teachers have prepared. 
A survey was conducted and most MV students have internet access. To accommodate for those who don’t, the students are allowed up to two weeks to turn in the assignment. Should students not understand the assignment, each teacher has listed a phone number or an e-mail address and the hours at which they can be reached. This is seen to most as a positive alternative compared to adding days to the end of the academic year.
Mississinawa is the only school in Darke County to try this. If it is a success, this may be an alternative for schools nationwide. Dr. Lisa Wendel has already spoken to several other superintendents across the United States who are anticipating the results of this trial. If Mississinawa does not exceed the three calamity dates issued by the county, it is scheduled to extend its Easter break by two days and have the students consider them as e-days.
Many college courses are available online and an e-day would be considered very similar to that. If anything, this could be a step in preparing students for college.
Dr. Wendel, as well as many other faculty and community members, anxiously await the outcome of these results.

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