Due to hazardous road conditions caused by the snow storm that slammed the Edwardsville region on Jan. 5, District 7 students spent the most of their first week back from winter break at home.

District 7 observed a typical snow day on Jan. 6, the first day back from winter break, and e-learning days from Jan. 7-9 after conferring with First Student and determining that road conditions were still too poor for travel, particularly in the district's rural districts.

Dr. Patrick Shelton, superintendent of District 7, said that the e-learning days went well. Due to the typical snow day on January 6, District 7's last day of school is now Tuesday, May 27. If District 7 had asked for typical snow days on January 7-9, three extra days of school would have been necessary at the conclusion of the school year.

An e-learning day counts as a school day, and that’s why the district does not need to make up for the days at the end of the school year. Remote learning has become the new norm in classrooms in a post-COVID, technology-driven society. But the two obvious downsides of remote learning are dependency on technology and distractions from a home learning environment.

District 7 opened its schools on January 4 to give out gadgets for individuals who require them for e-learning in preparation for the winter weather. In previous messages, the school system stated that it would work with families and students who did not have access to the internet or resources.

Students are scheduled to return to in-person sessions on January 10, but another round of snow is expected to occur which might cause the return to normal classes to be delayed even further.