Cape Breton schools hit hardest by snow days, weather cancellations
Schools north of Cape Smokey have had highest number of cancellations
Cape Breton students are getting hit hard by the number of storms this winter — some students on the island have missed more than two weeks of school this year due to the weather.
Across the province, the number of snow days so far in 2015 varies:
- Annapolis Valley Regional School Board: 7 days
- Cape Breton-Victoria Regional School Board: 8 days
- Chignecto-Central Regional School Board: 5 days
- Conseil scolaire acadien provincial: 1.5 days (This number is low due to the geographic distribution of CSAP schools. Often, not all schools were closed simultaneously.)
- Halifax Regional School Board: 4 days
- South Shore Regional School Board: No response
- Strait Regional School Board: 6.5 days
- Tri-County Regional School Board: 6.5 days
Schools in Cape Breton north of Cape Smokey have been closed for 11 days so far this year. Last year, they were closed for a total of 18 days.
David Cameron, a former member of the Halifax Regional School Board, is not a fan of the growing number of snow days.
"We're approaching a situation where snow days are more numerous than professional development days," he said.
"Put the two together and there's an awful lot of time that children are not in school."
In his term as a school board member, Cameron argued for fewer snow days, worrying that children weren't getting enough academic work done.
Extending the school year not allowed
Even with the lost days, school boards say there is no chance the school year will be extended. This is because of regulations in the province's Education Act.
"It can't extend beyond the 30th of June. It also can't include what is known as a Saturday, Sunday, or a statutory holiday," said Doug Hadley, a spokesperson for the Halifax Regional School Board.
"There's really little flexibility for schools and school boards to recoup lost time."
This means teachers will have to cram in all the learning.
"What we have to do is maximize the time we have available to us, and our teachers are very adept at that, so what they have to do is make sure they're covering off everything within the time that's remaining," said Hadley.