Anchorage students may have stretch of longer school days to make up for recent snow days

A man in a suit and tie sits on a board of directors.
Jharrett Bryantt, the superintendent of Anchorage School District, listens to public testimony at the Anchorage School District meeting on Monday. (Valerie Kern/Alaska Public Media).

Anchorage school officials are proposing to extend some school days by 30 minutes to help make up for an unprecedented string of snow days this month.

“The administration recommends that from January 30 to March 9, 30 minutes will be added to the instructional day,” Anchorage School District Superintendent Jharrett Bryantt said during Monday night’s school board meeting.

That’s part of the proposal, and should equal three full school days, according to Bryantt.

Anchorage students have had a total of seven snow days this year — six of them in just two weeks when the city got hit by a trio of massive snowstorms. Bryantt said the district only allocates for two snow days in a school year.

The second piece of the district’s proposal: Feb. 22 and 23 — which were previously half days due to parent-teacher conferences — would become full days. Plus, Feb. 24 would be a full school day instead of a professional development day. 

Bryantt said the plan is dependent upon approval by the state department of education as well as the school board.

RELATED: Anchorage School Board recommends closing Abbott Loop Elementary among other preliminary budget cuts

Wesley Early covers Anchorage life and city politics for Alaska Public Media. Reach him at wearly@alaskapublic.org and follow him on X at @wesley_early. Read more about Wesley here.

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